The Trenton Times published the following article on October 8, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Freeholders discuss transportation to new Amazon warehouse in Robbinsville
By Brendan McGrath/The Times of Trenton
on October 08, 2013 at 10:30 PM, updated October 08, 2013 at 10:32 PMTRENTON — Transportation talk dominated the Mercer County freeholders’ meeting tonight as they discussed construction at Trenton-Mercer Airport and changes in bus routes to help the people who will work at the new Amazon warehouse in Robbinsville.
The 1 million-square-foot Amazon warehouse is expected to bring 700 full-time jobs and open within a year, but the board of freeholders and County Executive Brian Hughes spoke about their concerns that public transportation to the site will not be adequate.
“My worry is that if we have people in the capital city that want to get to work at Amazon, it would be a three-bus hookup,” Hughes said.
The county is exploring different options for reducing the time and cost of any commute between Trenton and the warehouse, Hughes said, but it’s not just about Amazon.
“I think Amazon will not be the only new player you see out there,” Hughes said.
There are already Mercedes-Benz and Sleepy’s warehouses in the area, and Hughes said there is a possibility that Robbinsville could attract more businesses that would benefit from better access to Trenton by way of public transportation.
“We would like to get residents of the state capital out there also, but we don’t think it’s possible if somebody’s got to take an hour and a half commute to get there,” Hughes said.
“There is significant unemployment especially among young people in the city of Trenton who would be attracted to those jobs if they could get there,” Hughes said.