Government responds to town’s united effort

While the wheels of government do not always turn quickly, they do, on occasion, turn. That is the lesson Marlboro High School students and others can learn this week with the announcement that the township has received a $50,000 state grant. The money will be used to construct a sidewalk from the high school on Route 79 to the Bear Brook Commons shopping center at the intersection of Route 79 and Route 520.

The funds were awarded by the state Department of Trans-portation (DOT) under its “Safe Streets to School” program.

Township officials have acknowledged that students walk along the stretch of Route 79 between the high school and Bear Brook Commons. With that in mind, anything that can be done to ensure the safety of pedestrians is a welcome development.

The request for the grant has been in the works since February. That was shortly after a Marlboro High School student was struck by a motor vehicle as he tried to walk across the intersection of Route 79 and Route 520.

That incident galvanized the high school community. Students started a petition drive in an attempt to convince state transportation officials to make im-provements at and around the intersection where their fellow student was struck, as well as near the high school.

The students’ concern for a fellow teenager as well as their organized effort to get something done earned the support of Marl-boro officials.

In October, township employees painted crosswalks at the intersection. Crosswalks were painted on Route 520 just to the west and east of Route 79. A third crosswalk was painted on Route 79 just north of Route 520. No crosswalks had previously existed at the intersection.

In January, the Township Council is expected to authorize the solicitation of bids from contractors for the construction of the sidewalk along Route 79. A contract is expected to be awarded in March, with construction to begin in the summer. The sidewalk should be completed by the time school starts in September. We hope this timetable will develop as planned.

Meanwhile, officials said they will continue to lobby the state to provide funding for a traffic light at the intersection of the high school driveway and Route 79 (a state highway).

This has been a yearlong civics lesson for Marlboro officials and residents, and it promises to continue into 2005.

At its heart is the foundation of a government that is working as it should for the improvement of the community.