BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Resolutions are typically about goals and intentions you set for yourself.
But with change in the air at the start of a new year, we took to social media and asked residents to weigh in with their Lehigh Valley-centric wishes for 2024.
The responses — from Facebook, X and Reddit — came in fast and furious.
Here were some of the comments:
The widening of Route 22
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is getting up to $1 million in state Transportation Department funds for a corridor study of Route 22, state Sen. Nick Miller announced in September.
“State Route 22 has long been a nuisance for community members and travelers,” said Miller, who represents Lehigh and Northampton counties.
Residents agreed.
“Would it be too much to ask to widen Route 22?” one Redditor said, while another commented that our infrastructure “needs serious capacity increases, starting with 22 going to 3 lanes across the Valley.”
Trash, be gone!
The Lehigh Valley has several leading “litter vigilantes” who participated in Allentown’s first tournament-style clean-up in July.
But the need for clean extends beyond the Queen City, residents said.
“My specific desire is more trash cans on the Northside of Bethlehem,” wrote Sonya Hennet. “We should have multiple public trash cans per neighborhood like the Southside. There’s an influx of trash on the ground and I think part of the problem is there are no public trash cans, especially in the historic district.”
Infrastructure investments
Word on the future of passenger rail to the Lehigh Valley remained stalled at the station, Tom Shortell reported for LehighValleyNews.com in early December. But infrastructure is top-of-mind for many residents and received the lion’s share of the comments.
"My 2024 wish for the LV is reduced car dependency through infrastructure investments. Train lines connecting us to at least NYC and Philly, bike infrastructure, walkability infrastructure, and more bus routes," a Bethlehem resident named Alex said via email.
One Redditor responded, “How dope would it be if there was a tram that ran from the middle of Allentown, through Downtown Bethlehem and into the middle of Easton… or just more buses.”
“The only way I want to stick around (or move back later) to the LV is if they open passage for a train that connects us to Philly, NYC, Scranton and Lancaster,” another said.
Trader Joe’s (are you ever going to come here?)
Earlier this year, industry experts said it’s not a question of if, but when Trader Joe’s will open a Lehigh Valley store. But so far, there’s no word that TJ’s is on the way – despite many people still clamoring for it.
“I wish we’d get a gosh darn Trader Joe’s!” one person said, with the wish extending from Reddit to Facebook.
No more warehouses
Warehouses were a controversial topic in the Lehigh Valley in 2023.
In early December, the Upper Nazareth Township Board of Supervisors voted against rezoning land for a new industrial park next to Nazareth Area Intermediate School.
In that case, about 50 people came to the meeting, where township resident Becky Bartlett gave the board a petition opposing rezoning she said included signatures from “over 130” township residents.
Days before that ruling, Bethlehem Township planners voted not to endorse a proposed warehouse at an old limestone quarry site at the border with Freemansburg.
Those are just two of the many examples where warehouses were opposed, and that extended to wishes for the new year.
“No more warehouses! How many more can we possibly need?” someone asked.
Affordable Housing
Officials at Community Action Lehigh Valley’s largest-ever annual meeting in November agreed that addressing the area’s housing crisis would require a “multi-pronged approach.”
It’s one topic that came up repeatedly for area residents.
“Fewer luxury apartments and more affordable housing,” one person said on Reddit, while a Facebook comment was more direct: “My [one wish] would be affordable housing.”
The conversation veered into discussion about zoning laws and what defines how certain areas are zoned.
“Is there significant opportunity in re-reviewing how our area is zoned?” one person asked. “This stems from articles and news pieces I've read in which across the nation one of the biggest obstacles to the housing crisis is outdated zoning laws. E.G. Too much land is zoned strictly for single family units when multi is desperately needed.”
