To the Editor:
I was surprised by the claim at last week’s Princeton Council meeting that ice skating had been allowed on Lake Carnegie only once in the years since 1996. My PrincetonNatureNotes.org blog documents six times: 2003, 2007, 2009, twice in 2014, and 2015. Even though ChatGPT can quickly summon most of these years, the misinformation at the meeting was widely quoted as fact in media reports.
The decision to end this longtime Princeton tradition, even when ice conditions are favorable, was made quietly last year, without Council or public input. There were several other dubious claims made in defense of the decision. One Council member claimed people had died from skating on the ice, but offered only the recollections of a relative as evidence. My search of the indispensable Papers of Princeton site yielded no instances of death from skating on the lake. Incidents in 1943 and 1966 occurred up the Millstone River and on the canal, where current is an issue.
Reference was also made at the meeting to a skating injury on Lake Carnegie that had resulted in a lawsuit, apparently in 1996. Skating has been permitted six times in the 30 years since, so it’s not clear why the lawsuit would be taking on relevance now.
Though there certainly are challenges to allowing skating on the lake, the decision was made without the benefit of input from the many Princetonians who have treasured memories of the experience, and who could help explore how those challenges could be overcome.