ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown hopes to secure two seven-figure grants that officials say would make city roads safer.
City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved applications for a $5 million Automated Red Light Enforcement grant and a $7 million Safe Streets and Roads for All grant.
The ARLE grant — funded by the state Transportation Department — could pay for cameras and other technology to detect red-light violations, pedestrian improvements and data-driven safety measures, according to a memo from Mayor Matt Tuerk’s administration to council.
Under existing state law, just Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and a handful of other places in the commonwealth are allowed to use automated red light enforcement, and a change to existing legislation would have to expand their use and make them permanent.
Currently, programs in Philadelphia and other commonwealth locations will expire in July 2027 unless the legislature acts.
Safety improvements through grant funding would be focused along Hamilton Boulevard from Ott Street in West Allentown to 5th Street in Center City, Allentown’s Department of Public Works Mark Shahda said.
The Hamilton Boulevard/Street corridor is among the most dangerous in the city, Shahda said, referencing an analysis of thousands of crashes in recent years.
An online dashboard displaying more than 10,000 crashes in Allentown since 2019 includes a heat map that shows crashes on almost every block of the city in that period.
Almost 300 were classified as “high injury,” with at least one serious injury or death.
'High-injury network'
The dashboard highlights Allentown’s “High Injury Network” of roads, which represent 6% of the city’s more than 400 miles of roads but account for about half of all high-injury crashes.
That network includes Tilghman and Hamilton streets, Hanover Avenue and Union Boulevard, as well as Seventh and 15th streets and American Parkway.
“Focusing safety efforts [on the High Injury Network] can have the biggest impact."Allentown's Safe Streets for All Action Plan
“Focusing safety efforts [on the High Injury Network] can have the biggest impact,” according to the city’s Safe Streets for All Action Plan.
Officials last month celebrated a $1.9 million ARLE grant to fund traffic-calming measures in the area at Lehigh Parkway and South Jefferson Street as part of the launch of the city’s Safe Streets for All program.
Allentown’s most dangerous roadway in recent years could also see major upgrades.
City officials would use a $7 million grant from the U.S. Transportation Department to “complete safety upgrades and reconfiguration” of Tilghman Street and Union Boulevard, according to a Tuerk administration memo.
Forty-five “high-injury” crashes were reported along that corridor from 2019 to 2023 — three times as many as were reported along Hamilton Street, according to city statistics.
Allentown must contribute 20% of the grant’s total, which would be $1.4 million if it gets the full $7 million it’s seeking.
