New Jersey’s capital, Trenton, has an opportunity to connect its neighborhoods, historic downtown, and waterfront, and become a vibrant midpoint between New York and Philadelphia. The city’s master plan, Trenton250, envisions becoming both a bigger city, with more residents and jobs, and a more equitable city, with a better quality of life for all.
The master plan outlines ways to strengthen Trenton’s residential, retail, and cultural sectors with a diverse local economy, supported by investments in education and the arts. The plan promotes universal access to the internet to enhance innovation and expand opportunity. Trenton250 also aspires to create a more healthy, safe, and walkable city. One specific proposal, long on the books but still not approved, entails transforming Route 29 into an urban boulevard and reclaiming park space along the Delaware River waterfront. The plan also includes the construction of new homes, offices, and retail, a new public square, and the expansion of the historic William Trent House Museum.
The recommendations of the Fourth Regional Plan would help the city of Trenton realize its vision by calling for state and municipal collaboration for building housing downtown, attracting new businesses, and creating cultural and arts attractions. In particular, the Fourth Plan calls for more state resources to help cities transform limited-access highways into urban boulevards. Strategies to create universal high-speed internet access and develop partnerships with anchor institutions such as hospitals and universities are particularly relevant for Trenton. And improvements that would result in faster, more reliable rail service between Trenton, northern New Jersey, and New York City would make the city more attractive to residents and businesses alike.