Gov. Christie says new Trenton park ‘first step’ to reconfigure Route 29
TRENTON » On the heels of his announcement last week that Trenton would be the recipient of a new riverfront park and pedestrian bridge, Gov. Chris Christie tweeted out a photo of the capital city before Route 29 was built.
“A look back at Trenton’s Stacy Park and how it once served as the City’s connection to the Riverfront,” the Republican governor captioned the photo on Twitter on June 14.
During a press conference at the Statehouse on Wednesday, Christie was asked if the proposed new Trenton recreational space called Trenton Falls Park was the first part of the broader reconfiguration of Route 29. Route 29 was built in the 1950s and limited access to the Delaware River for Trenton residents and visitors.
“We see this as the first step,” the governor explained. “I think a greater configuration of (Route) 29 ... would probably take the better part of five to 10 years to get done, so that’s something the next administration will have to decide.”
With the replenishment of the Transportation Trust Fund due to last year’s increase of the state gas tax, Christie said New Jersey’s next leader will have the option to transform Trenton’s landscape.
“We hope that given that we’ve now provided an 8-year program of $32 billion between state and federal funds for transportation improvements that this is something that they’ll have the resources to do and we hope that whoever is in the next administration will take a strong look at the reconfiguration of 29 now that we have the resources to do it,” Christie said.
Last week, Christie was joined by Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson when the plan for a new pedestrian bridge over Route 29, which stretches from the top of the Statehouse parking garage to the 4.5-acre park, was unveiled.
The governor said Wednesday that the idea came from meetings with the city.
“We’ve been working with the mayor over a course of time about ways to enhance things here in the city of Trenton,” Christie outlined.
Another reporter who has lived in the capital city for the past 13 years asked the governor if the $18.5-million project was the “best use of money for Trenton” since the park had “flooded catastrophically” several times over the past decade.
“It was done in conjunction with the mayor’s office and we have a number of things ... that we’re investing money in Trenton and this is just one of them,” Christie responded. “I believe it’s a good thing to do.”
Jackson said last week that the bridge and park will provide an opportunity to advance the city’s economic activity along the riverfront. The ultimate goal, Jackson said, is to transform the riverfront into a destination like Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
“This isn’t just my idea as a mayor but this has been something that has been thought of for years prior to me, is to make the river a destination point, where we have retail, we have some entertainment, where we connect the river as a destination port,” Jackson said after the press conference. “I believe this is a small step to get to that but the long-range plan, our river is our biggest asset and we have to connect more than just the west end of our city to it as a resource.”
Trenton has been the recipient of goodwill from the state in the past month.
Last week, DEP presented the city with $2.3 million in funding to restore the historic Cadwalader Park, which had fallen in disrepair in recent years. The multi-phase project includes linking the park to the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park and the D&R Canal path, upgrading and relocating the picnic grove area so that each picnic table will be equipped with a grill and installing an enhanced playground. The old picnic grove site is also slated to be transformed into a concert area and handicap-accessible pathways will be erected between sections of the park.
That was preceded by the governor’s announcement in May that Trenton would receive $11.5 million in state funding to demolish 500 vacant properties. The state also pledged $786,000 to install 150 surveillance cameras in Trenton to help police with public safety initiatives and vowed to improve street lighting in the city.
Christie said there will be more announcements for Trenton in the summer and fall before he leaves office.