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Mayor of Trenton urges state to take over maintenance of roads around State Capitol
Summary
Mayor W. Reed told a Senate committee that the state should assume maintenance of streets near the State Capitol Complex — including West State Street, Barrack Street and Memorial Drive — citing that 52% of Trenton property is tax‑exempt and about 20,000 people commute into the city daily.
Mayor W. Reed of Trenton urged a Senate committee to shift responsibility for maintaining roadways surrounding the State Capitol Complex to the state, saying the change would relieve the city of costs tied to properties that do not pay local property taxes.
"Every day, 20,000, New Jerseyans come into work, come into the city," Mayor Reed told the committee as he urged passage of SB 32‑34. He added that "52% of the property in Trenton is tax exempt," saying many parcels are owned by government or religious institutions and do not contribute property tax revenue to the city.
Reed identified specific streets he said should be covered by the state, including West State Street, Barrack Street and Memorial Drive, and told the committee: "This is your road, and we would much appreciate it if you could take care of it for us."
Why it matters
Reed argued the state benefits from the capital’s accessibility and should support the city that surrounds it. Committee members responded positively; after brief remarks from the chair the committee moved and voted to release SB 32‑34 from committee.
Procedure and next steps
The committee recorded an affirmative roll call by Senator Tyver, Senator Hosoffel, Senator Turner (left vote recorded as affirmative), Senator Berzicelli, Vice Chair Mukherjee and Chairman Deigner, and the clerk announced: "The bill is released." The release means SB 32‑34 will proceed to the next step of the legislative process for further consideration.
