There were plenty of fireworks surrounding the vote on the pedestrian/bike bridge feasibility study funding Tuesday night at Council. The funding was approved 6-1, Councilman Callahan naying. But the issue may not be over. Stay tuned. Tip o’ the hat to anybody who weighed in with Council. It was remarked that Council received much public contact. Gadfly did not have a good day yesterday and will fill you in on details of the discussion in due course.
Meanwhile . . .
Chatter around Gadfly’s water cooler about the idea of a pedestrian bridge:
- I know folks who are terrified of walking (much less biking and dodging the metal girders) on the Hill to Hill sidewalk. The noise is deafening, and sometimes terrifying, and you feel as if trucks are going to suck you onto the road in their backdraft.
- Many Lehigh students I’ve talked with have expressed amazement that anyone would walk downtown via the bridges, which from their perspective seem forbidding and out of scale for walkers.
- Foot and bike traffic between the two downtowns and/or the towpath or Greenway) will not increase unless there is a quieter, more pleasant experience awaiting folks as they cross the river.
For a little historical perspective on the origin of the idea for a bridge:
“Walk-bike bridge over Lehigh River sought in Bethlehem.” Morning Call, February 2, 2017.