Those crazy wild and crazy cats over in Monmouth and Ocean counties are at it again. They held a press conference this morning at which they released the results of a poll they say shows massive and widespread support for a commuter line running through Monroe, Jamesburg and South Brunswick — the so-called MOM line.
The poll numbers, taken at face value, would seem to show just that. Nearly four in five residents in the three counties polled indicated they supported the South Brunswick alternative.
The problem, however, is that understanding the poll requires that you look a little deeper — at what was asked and what was not.
Let’s start with what was not asked, specifically, whether respondents would support any other alternative but the South Brunswick route. And that question, according to the Power Point presentation made at the press conference (sent to us by the public relations firm working on behalf of MOM supporters), was only asked after a series of questions designed to get local commuters thinking about the difficulty of their commute.
More import is the specific text of the main question:
The South Brunswick Alignment of the MOM rail project proposal, also known as the Monmouth Junction Alignment, is a new passenger train line that will use existing railroad tracks to bring fast, dependable train service to your area. In Ocean County, the line begins in Lakehurst and travels through Manchester, Toms River, Jackson and Lakewood. From Lakewood, the line will pass into Monmouth County through Howell, Farmingdale, Freehold, Manalapan and Englishtown. From Englishtown, the line will continue into Middlesex County, passing through Monroe, Jamesburg and South Brunswick. For area residents, this alignment would permit more transportation options when traveling within the region and also connect residents by rail to places like Trenton, New Brunswick, Metro Park, Newark Airport, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC and Boston. Knowing this, do you favor or oppose this alignment?
That’s a lot of words, so I’ll boil it down. There are two key phrases in this question: “fast, dependable train service” and the statement of fact that comes just before the question, “For area residents, this alignment would permit more transportation options when traveling within the region and also connect residents by rail to places like Trenton, New Brunswick, Metro Park, Newark Airport, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC and Boston.”
Technically true? Perhaps. But it is important to note that most of these options already exist — especially for the people living in Middlesex County who already live relatively close to the Northeast Corridor line and several rail stations.
Simply put, this was a push poll, one designed to get the specific answer desired. In this case, the freeholder boards in Monmouth and Ocean counties paid $18,000 for a public relations firm to create a poll that would prove their contention that people want the line through Monmouth Junction.
What’s surprising is how transparent the effort was. I would have expected $18,000 to buy something a little more sophisticated than what ultimately was produced.
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Hank Kalet 