Transit Friendly Communities for NJ: Trenton II

In the last 15 years, NJ Transit has spent over $7.5 billion to repair, rehabilitate, expand, and connect all of the State’s passenger lines - built in the mid-1800s by competing rail companies - into one seamless transit system. Together, these connections, upgrades, and new light rail lines will result in an interconnected rail network with over 150 commuter rail stations serving the majority of state residents. Despite this massive infusion of transit funding and commitment by NJ Transit, there has been a lack of awareness among many New Jersey communities about how to leverage these transit investments to revitalize their downtowns, encourage business and local economic development, and reduce reliance on the private car.

This program - TransitFriendly Communities for New Jersey - is working with diverse community partners to develop specific ways that New Jersey towns and cities can become more ​“transit-friendly.” Under this effort, NJ Transit is working with a consortium of non-profit organizations, the New Jersey Office of State Planning, and local public and private sector partners on a statewide initiative which includes educational workshops, technical assistance, and demonstration projects in eleven communities to shape a new vision for linking train stations to community enhancement.

This program allows NJ Transit to leverage the talents and resources of its non-profit and government partners - leaders in smart growth, community revitalization, regional planning, and public education - to shape the future of communities around NJ Transit stations well into the 21st Century. The result will be models for other New Jersey communities to follow in future NJ Transit projects; communities that understand how transportation investments can enhance the environment, create strong downtown centers, and improve quality of life. The program received one of a handful of competitively selected federal grants under the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot Project (TCSP) program. The TCSP program supports States, local governments and metropolitan planning organization initiatives “…to plan and implement strategies that improve the efficiency of the transportation system; reduce environmental impacts of transportation; reduce the need for costly future public infrastructure investments; ensure efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade; and examine private sector development patterns and investments that support these goals.” The TCSP Program is authorized for $120 million from Fiscal Year 1999 - 2003, to be used throughout the United States.

The Trenton Rail Station

The Trenton Rail Station was selected for this project because of the pivotal role it plays, not just as a key NJ Transit rail hub, but also as a catalyst for the redevelopment of New Jersey’s capital city. The station itself is the subject of a plan by NJ Transit to rehabilitate, expand, and renovate the facility. Plans call for a portion of the station to expanded upward to two stories and outward toward Raoul Wallenburg Avenue through the creation of a new public plaza that will serve as a central square and link the station with the terminus of NJ Transit’s River Line light rail system, which is located directly across the street from the Trenton Rail Station, on the corner of South Clinton Avenue and Barlow Street. NJ Transit also plans to completely remodel the interior of the Trenton Rail Station, as well as the station’s Walnut Avenue entrance, which is closest to the Greenwood Hamilton neighborhood. This report represents the second phase of the ​“Transit-Friendly Communities for New Jersey” study for the Trenton Rail Station, and identifies broad redevelopment opportunities and access issues of the surrounding residential and commercial neighborhoods.

The first phase of this study dealt exclusively with the station and its immediate surroundings. The goal of that study was to inform the planned redesign of the station entrances to create safe access to the station for pedestrians; address future vehicular access issues for passenger pick-up and drop-off movements; provide linkages to the surrounding area neighborhoods; and to create a ​“sense of place” in the station and on its plaza, highlighting the station as the gateway to downtown Trenton. The goal of this Phase II project is to describe the relationship between the immediate station area and the larger context that can in some way leverage the benefits of this significant transportation resource. In this way, it is complementary to the Phase I Report, which focused on pedestrian issues in the immediate environment of the renovated train station and new station for the River Line. To that end, this report focuses on several things:

1. The larger station area planning framework; connections from the station area to significant destinations are described.
2. Major redevelopment opportunities; the several larger sites within the larger station area are described in terms of program and building form.
3. Neighborhood revitalization; opportunities for context-sensitive in-fill development in the neighborhood south-east of the station are described.