I’ve rambled about the need for people to get involved in their communities and petition their leaders for longer than I care to think about. I made it the topic of my last column as a student journalist when I graduated college, and it’s a point I harp on routinely as the Road Warrior.
Back in college, the issues had more to do with student apathy and lousy meal plans. Nowadays, the complaints involve a lot more big rigs and traffic signals. Either way, I strongly believe that if you see problems that need to be fixed, it’s best if you’re part of the solution.
So imagine my pleasure when a record number of people commented on the FutureLV plan, a document spelling out the region’s long-term strategy on development, housing, transportation, open space, farmland preservation and infrastructure. Becky Bradley, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, said the commission received 224 comments, about 10 times more than normal.
The comments are all anonymous, but you get a sense of which are coming from professional engineers, elected officials, professionals in the warehouse or trucking industries, or John Q. Public. Considering how overlooked these reports tend to be, Bradley said she was just excited to see so much conversation and debate, even if some disagreed with the recommendations.
Some of those critiques and insights led to changes in the report, creating what should be a stronger document. Because of the feedback, the FutureLV document has tighter language about protecting agricultural zones, steers utilities such as pipelines away from environmentally sensitive areas, and requires greater planning oversight on large warehouses and freight facilities. I wanted to highlight some of the transportation-related comments that stood out to me. I don’t necessarily agree with them, but they make for interesting topics. Some have been edited for space.
Trucks should be restricted from the left hand travel lanes of Interstate 78, along with speed limit restrictions, as too many tractor-trailers and dump truck drivers are going too fast downhill or too slow uphill. This creates traffic jams and accidents. Elected officials and public agencies need to promote and enforce passenger car driving laws. Too many drivers on Route 22 are tailgating, trying to pass people at 75+ mph in a 55 mph zone. Aggressive drivers have caused many accidents with other cars, and huge traffic jams when cutting off tractor-trailers. A large truck stop is needed for safety along with travel lane and speed restrictions for tractor-trailers on I-78.
I’m glad people recognize tractor-trailers may be part of the problem but not the only one. I would guess far more drivers in passenger vehicles drive like maniacs, sometimes creating problems with truckers who aren’t doing anything wrong. Another truck stop on a major Lehigh Valley corridor is sorely needed. We need more well-rested, focused truckers on the road, and a stop would help with that.
The time it takes for a worker to travel from Easton to Allentown is over an hour by bus due to the transfers and stops. If the worker is trying to travel from Easton to the warehouses in Upper Macungie Township, it will take 90 minutes one way via public transportation during peak hours. Off-hours public transportation does not exist for early morning or late night shifts. Warehouse workers often have to pay taxis or Uber drivers to commute to/from work when the buses are not operating.
Preach! Under federal funding policies, LANTA needs to see an increase in ridership to get more money, which it could use to strengthen its services without abandoning routes. But those people won’t come until the services are improved, creating a Catch-22. And while a lot of comments clamored for rail service, that evolves out of popular express bus routes. The Lehigh Valley Transportation Study summed it up when it responded to some commenters, “Please ride LANTA, as it is literally the regulatory and financial road to rail.”
One of the more polarizing concepts was the debate over more trails, sidewalks and walkable shopping corridors. People were particularly doubtful about a study of MacArthur Road, which would explore dedicated bus lanes, adding island medians and making it more accessible to pedestrians and bikers.
I am frustrated with the MacArthur Road Corridor Plan and cross-section. The corridor needs to provide for larger vehicles. Ten-foot lanes will not accommodate the large vehicle traffic that will continue to use this road in the future. The mix of pedestrian and bicycle traffic will result in lower speeds and increased travel times, which will cause drivers to divert to other routes as they attempt to use this regional arterial. Pedestrians and bicyclists will need to cross this route and transit services will need to serve this route to allow access to other areas, but placing a bus stop with an 8-foot width in the center is creating a dangerous mix. Personal mobility is what most of us ultimately relate to quality of life. While I support multimodalism, we cannot take the MacArthur Road Corridor and simply change its scale to find success.
I suspect some of these concerns may be addressed by market forces in the next 10 years, but who knows? As the study pointed out, 3D printing and the rise of e-commerce is changing the way we shop, and a massive retail corridor such as MacArthur Road will probably need to adapt. Some properties could become greyfields — the retail equivalent of industrial brownfields — and candidates for redevelopment. Those projects will change the character of MacArthur Road, though it’s hard to predict how. I appreciate the writer raising real concerns and not just reacting against something new and different.
I was excited to read about Whitehall Township thinking of making MacArthur Road more accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists. I live in Palmer Township and feel 25th Street/Route 248 should offer the same amenities. I live about one mile from the shopping center at Route 248 and Northwood Avenue, but it is impossible to travel there without using a car. Being able to walk for services/groceries/entertainment is a huge draw for people of all ages and income levels.
To be honest, when I first saw the proposals about MacArthur Road, I thought this retail district might be a better candidate. There’s more demand for travel along MacArthur Road, but changing this Palmer Township corridor may be more feasible. Traffic is heavy but less congested, and it feels like there’s more room to work with.
Morning Call reporter Tom Shortell can be reached at 610-820-6168 or tshortell@mcall.com.
