I stopped by the river the yesterday just to see how it looked. There was a group of men working on the land side but I noticed a ladder going down to the river. It was low tide and there was more activity below then up top. What's funny is Mark and I did that same tactic during a practice session one night to see if it could be done. The worry is with the new watefront project all access to the river on the Jersey side will be over.
It's been several years since the Trenton waterfront project started, actually it was August 2022. The work is being conducted primarily around the old wharf just below the train bridge.
They've knocked the old one out and are in the process of building a new one. It's been a long time since they started but I was told by an engineer they had to wait for the final plans to be approved, and the budget passed.
It used to be a great place to fish, but no longer. Yes, you can fish the stretch from a boat, but you know how I feel about boat fishing. Long gone are the days where I'd tip toe
past the sleeping homeless to make my way to the river. Now fencing lines Route 29 and there is no access. It's over Johnny.
I talked to the project foreman and he told me they were painting the river side of the wall from the top down to the high water mark. They use a special epoxy based paint that is used to extend the life of the concrete walls. Those walls have been holding the land one way and the water the other since the 1950's and 60's when the project was completed.
Route 29 plowed through what was once Stacy Park and it basically separated the city from the Delaware River. There have been studies to re-route Route 29 and make the waterfront more accessible and inviting. It is all planned around the Trenton Thunder Ballpark. While that's great for anyone who doesn't hold a fishing
While that's great for anyone who doesn't hold a fishing rod in hand, it's not so good for the striped bass. If fishing is even allowed on the public promenades anglers will have a chore landing a striped bass from that vantage point. The folks that fish along Trenton's waterfront now, are great, and not so great. Lot's of garbage, lot's of poaching, and lot's of mishandled big fish when it's the season. Like everywhere else, the Delaware River will become a boat fishery. And I hate boats.
