BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Funding for South Bethlehem Greenway Trail Extension: Check.
Funding for the Linden Street Two-Way Conversion: Check.
Funding for Broad Street Multimodal Project: Check.
Each of those boxes were checked as checks from grants totaling $3.7 million were presented to Bethlehem by Lehigh Valley Transportation Study on Wednesday to support the city’s transformative transportation and infrastructure projects.
“People here are committed to creating things, not just for themselves, but for others and for spaces we can share."Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds.
A news conference was held at the South Bethlehem Greenway trailhead in Saucon Park.
“People here are committed to creating things, not just for themselves, but for others and for spaces we can share,” Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds said.
Attendees also included Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and LVTS members, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, Lehigh Valley state representatives and a representative from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Three separate checks from state grants were awarded by the LVTS under distinct transportation programs.
'What this is all about'
The grants included:
From the federally funded Transportation Alternative Set-Aside, or TASA Program:
- South Bethlehem Greenway Trail Extension received $500,000 to help complete the final phase of a two-decade project that will develop a 13.7-mile corridor connecting Bethlehem, Hellertown, Coopersburg and Quakertown.
From the Carbon Reduction Program, or CRP:
- Linden Street Two-Way Conversion Project received $1.8 million. The project will convert the street from one-way southbound to two-way within the city, from Fairview Street to East Church Street to reduce congestion.
The CRP was established to reduce transportation-related carbon emissions, create bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, promote green infrastructure and implement intelligent transportation systems that reduce the environmental and community impacts of freight movement.
“In its current configuration, Linden Street is a one-way racetrack," said Scott Slingerland, executive director for the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, or CAT.
"With two lanes for car drivers to go too fast and jockey for position at the expense of pedestrians.”
- Broad Street Multimodal Project received $1.4 million.
The project consists of constructing improvements along Broad Street, from Hanover Avenue to Stefko Boulevard, as recommended in the Broad Street Act Transportation Plan of 2021.
The project is a cornerstone of Bethlehem’s Safe Streets and Carbon Reduction Strategy.
The Broad Street redesign will better accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and drivers through safer intersections, upgraded crossings and modernized streetscapes.
“These projects come together because people in the Lehigh Valley and Bethlehem get it right about how to come together in a nonpartisan way to do good things,” Reynolds said.
“That’s what this is all about.”
'Building healthier communities'
The Greenway project now is fully funded, Reynolds said, and will move into the design and engineering stage.
The $500,000 grant will help build a one-mile trail extension connecting the South Bethlehem Greenway with the Saucon Rail Trail in Hellertown.
It’s part of a $7.1 million plan to connect two of the region’s most widely used trails, closing one of the state’s Top 10 trail gaps.
“We’re not just building trails, we’re building healthier communities, enhancing access to green space and investing in the long-term wellbeing of our residents.”Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure
The project also will include installing a 12-foot-wide trail that will be ADA compliant, with native plants, benches, wayfinding signs and trash receptacles. Construction will take place in 2026.
Bethlehem also received a $300,000 Livable Landscapes Grant, presented to Reynolds by McClure.
“This is a vibrant connected community and Northampton County is proud to be a partner in this effort,” McClure told Reynolds.
“Projects like this, mayor, demonstrate that you are strategic in determining the funding through which the Livable Landscapes would come in and help.
“We’re not just building trails, we’re building healthier communities, enhancing access to green space and investing in the long-term wellbeing of our residents.”
LVPC Executive Director Becky A. Bradley celebrated the grants for helping invest in these projects.
“All these projects have been ones the local governments have given to the region,” Bradley said. “Then the region matches them up with the policy that we developed together.
“These are two specific funding pools that have allowed us to invest in these priorities.”
