EASTON, Pa. — A budding public transportation plan could see commutes between Easton neighborhoods cut down to a third of their normal route time.
Joined by city officials and representatives from Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority at the Fred A. Williams Easton Intermodal Transportation Center on Monday, Easton City Councilman Frank Pintabone announced plans for a more efficient intracity bus system.
"We have what we think is a solution, where partnering with LANTA, we’ll have buses that connect the neighborhoods in 10 minutes."Easton City Councilman Frank Pintabone
They said it would let residents get from one neighborhood to another within 10 minutes.
But before they get there, the team behind the project will have to make a few stops to pick up community perspective on the matter.
“My vision that I spoke about since 2023 of a bus or a trolley connecting to neighborhoods is that much closer than it was in 2023," Pintabone said.
"So we're looking for public to discuss their needs and their concerns.
“And we have what we think is a solution, where partnering with LANTA, we’ll have buses that connect the neighborhoods in 10 minutes.
"So you can get from South Side to College Hill or College Hill to West Ward, West Ward to Downtown, so on and so forth at a reliable, quicker time than normal routes.”
'Entice them to use transit'
According to Pintabone, the team will begin scheduling community meetings with officials toward the end of October. Details will be released in coming weeks.
LANTA Executive Director Owen O'Neill said the Lehigh Valley has reached a point where the three major downtowns are in a healthy state, “and one of the things that happens when you have a healthy downtown is congestion.”
“One of the things that happens when you have a healthy downtown is congestion."LANTA Executive Director Owen O'Neill
“One way to alleviate that is those high-frequency shuttles that run often and connect people to the different parts of the city and downtown quickly," O'Neill said.
"And that can really help to put people on buses and really push people or kind of entice them to use transit.”
O’Neill said speedy efficiency always has been an issue with LANTA service, with most buses running every hour or half hour.
But with increased routes running every 10 or 15 minutes, he said, more people likely would use public transit for travel between the neighborhoods, alleviating traffic and some parking issues.
'Like to get residential input'
Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said most people have become reliant on their own vehicles over public transportation, “and that has to stop.”
According to the mayor, with increased development in the downtown and the neighborhoods, improving quick and convenient public transit between neighborhoods is a necessity.
But knowing how to orchestrate the routes and stops is vital, as well, he said, pointing to the low percentage of drivers who use city garages as an example.
"We would like to get residential input. Right now we can build four more garages at $33,000 a space. But if no one uses it, what good is it?”Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
“We want to create more community partnerships with this program, and first, in order to get that, the first community partnership is residential input," Panto said.
"So we would like to get residential input.
“Right now we can build four more garages at $33,000 a space. But if no one uses it, what good is it?”
City Administrator Luis Campos said officials will use community input to help develop routes, stops and timing for the program.
That will be important to coming up with a cost for the three-year beta test, Campos said.
“After three years, the city will fund on an annual basis," he said. "And then at that point, if the project is deemed successful, it would convert from a city-funded project to a fully funded project by the transportation authorities.
“So that's the next phase, and the administration is committed to, first of all, conducting the feasibility portion, then working internally to see how we can fund the three-year testing of this program.”
'Keep route reliable and quick'
Pintabone later clarified the city will pay 15% of the cost for the first three years, and if it proves to be successful by the standards of PennDOT, the project cost would be absorbed into the state budget permanently.
“The surveys that we do and the meetings in the neighborhood will determine the amount of stops and how many buses and things that we need."Easton City Councilman Frank Pintabone
As there likely will be fewer stops on the routes to keep the timing tight — normally, Pintabone said, it takes about 30 minutes to travel from one neighborhood to another — it's in the public interest to participate in the surveys when they come out, according to the councilman.
“The surveys that we do and the meetings in the neighborhood will determine the amount of stops and how many buses and things that we need,” Pintabone said.
“So that's why it's very important that the residents and business owners, everybody who has a vested interest, take part in these discussions, in the survey.
"That's what we'll determine — the amount of buses. And the goal is to keep the routes reliable and quick. So we have to hear from everybody, and then we can put that plan together.”
