The Center Square redesign received conditional permission from the municipal Planning Commission.
Officials in charge of planning are fully supporting a project aimed at improving pedestrian safety at one of Allentown's busiest crossroads. To increase the amount of area available for gatherings and events, the project intends to enlarge two plazas, located on the northeast and southeast corners of Seventh and Hamilton streets. That would mean that numerous car lanes would be eliminated. The proposals called for all traffic on Hamilton Street to be diverted to the left of the Sailors and Soldiers monument, rather than splitting around it as it currently does. There would also be a plaza covering the left-turn lane from Seventh Street to Hamilton Street, leaving two lanes for traffic.
On Seventh Street, a bike lane would run on the left side of two lanes for cars. According to Jennifer Gomez, director of Allentown Planning, there was much discussion among planners regarding the best side of the street to designate as a bike lane. According to John Wichner of Bowman Consulting, they chose the left side because there are less potential sources of contention there, such as valet parking and drop-off locations close to PPL Plaza on the right side.
"It is fantastic that the city now has bike lanes," Erich Hortung, a commission member, remarked. Among the top issues citizens mentioned during public sessions last year were increasing space for people, not automobiles, and making the city's major crossroads safer for bikers and pedestrians, Gomez said on Tuesday. Last month, planning officials in the Lehigh Valley also asked local delegates to give walkers and bicycles top priority in the project.
This year, Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk unveiled his Vision Zero plan, which aims to end fatalities and serious injuries on municipal roadways by 2030. The public meetings held last year revealed that a lot of people also hoped the project would open up possibilities for celebrations of Allentown's rich cultural diversity.
If all goes as planned, the redesign project would result in "a spectacular change" of downtown, according to Craig Beavers, who was recently appointed to the planning commission. "The city will really profit from this," he declared.
The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial will continue to be the center of attention in a new plaza, and the project will encompass the whole Seventh and Hamilton crossroads as well as public rights-of-way. According to renderings, the enlarged plaza outside the Starbucks on the ground floor of Two City Center would be centered on a statue. More green area is also required by the project. According to a Lehigh Valley planning authority, Center City Allentown's lack of green space is placed above the 90th percentile nationally.
Grants from the state Transportation Department and the Public Improvement Investment Program of the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone will finance the redesign of Center Square in Allentown.
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The renovation should be completed by the end of next year, according to city authorities.