Latest in a series of posts about Lehigh University and the Southside
Dana Grubb is a lifelong resident of the City of Bethlehem who worked 27 years for the City of Bethlehem in the department of community and economic development, as sealer of weights and measures, housing rehabilitation finance specialist, grants administrator, acting director of community and economic development, and deputy director of community development.
Gadfly,
And this good idea should be lauded. However there are things at play that are working to accomplish this, that don’t involve closing a city-owned street. University housing on Brodhead Avenue, a new classroom center at Morton and Webster Streets, and now proposed university expansion at Webster Street and Packer Avenue are connecting the campus with the business district. Collaboration between city and university police departments to create safety are helping to do that as well. However, as I stated that night [at the Broughal public meeting, January 23], continued development on the Southside is drawing more and more activity, pedestrian and certainly vehicular, and more of both creates conflict particularly just to the west of the campus and certainly to the north and east. Whatever design and implementation is advanced for South New Street from the Fahy Bridge to University Square may certainly affect traffic and pedestrian flow, both positively and negatively. Certainly having a new parking garage in that short stretch of S. New Street already has. This entire situation needs to be a finely tuned dance, because small missteps in one neighborhood will have substantial impacts in others. And, the sense I get is that residents are growing tired of being the ones stepped on.
Dana