ALLENTOWN: Borough Council paves way for downtown upgrades

By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
   ALLENTOWN — The Borough Council has approved a required project agreement with Monmouth County enabling Allentown to receive $176,324 in federal funds to start a streetscape beautification project that includes new sidewalks in the downtown business district.
   The first phase of the Allentown Historic Streetscape Improvement Project calls for replacing the deteriorating sidewalks on South Main Street between Church and High streets. The project also calls for new concrete curbs, pedestrian roadway crosswalks, curb ramps to allow handicapped access to the sidewalks, new streetlights and benches.
   The total price tag of phase one of the beautification project is $956,000 and will require future successful grant awards in the years ahead to complete.
   The borough received a $250,000 grant from the state in 2010, so the addition of the recent federal grant means there is $426,324 available so far to start the project, according to Eric Betz of the borough’s engineering firm, Hatch, Mott and MacDonald. The design work is likely to be done in spring so that the improvements themselves can start in the summer or fall, he said.
   The Borough Council unanimously voted to authorize the signing of the project agreement with the county at the Jan. 19 meeting.
   ”This grant we’re being given is the initial seed money for downtown improvements for the business district,” Mayor Stuart Fierstein said Jan. 21. “It’s part of an overall vision for the business area.”
   Mayor Fierstein said the overall plan envisioned would cost $3 million to $4 million, which the borough will fund through grants in the years ahead. According to the concept plan prepared by Hatch, Mott and MacDonald, phases two, three and four would extend the improvements to the section of Church Street between Main and Gordon streets; the length of Gordon Street between Heritage Park and Church Street; and North Main Street between Church and Broad streets.
   The last phase of the plan involves improvements to the Church Street parking lot and pedestrian walkway, the concept plan states.
   Phase one on South Main Street is meant to complement similar streetscape improvements planned as part of the $6.2 million Main Street Bridge replacement project adjacent to the downtown business district. The new bridge will have two lanes, a pedestrian walkway and stone facing in keeping with the historic character of the community.
   The style of the bridge lighting and walkway will match the lighting and other improvements the borough will be making on South Main Street, Mayor Fierstein said. The county bridge project began last year and officials hope that it will be finished before the start of the 2011 holiday shopping season.
   One item that is missing for now from the beautification project is the proposed municipal parking lot that had been planned for land behind the businesses that line the east side of South Main Street. The proposed lot would have been accessed from Waker Avenue and Lakeview Drive, but attempts to negotiate easements with the property owners “didn’t work out,” the mayor said.
   ”It’s unfortunate because parking along Main Street is limited and if shoppers can’t find a spot they just drive right on by,” Mayor Fierstein said. “When you have older properties and older buildings that are located close to the street parking becomes a problem.”
   The mayor said the business community has been suffering in the current economy and the limited parking compounds its problems. The only municipal lot now available to shoppers is located off Church Street, which is nearly a quarter of a mile away from some of the stores located on the southern end of Main Street.
   ”The issue isn’t the bridge,” Mayor Fierstein said, noting that the temporary road that was built to enable traffic to flow alongside the bridge project has kept the business district from being cut off from the rest of town.
   ”I do believe that the biggest problems are the economy, the inconveniences associated with parking, and the declining number of businesses overall,” Mayor Fierstein said. As more retail stores close and are replaced by professional offices, Allentown becomes less of a shopping destination, he said.
   ”I really don’t want to see the downtown become just an office district,” Mayor Fierstein said.
   Mayor Fierstein said he was optimistic, however, that the streetscape beautification project, coupled with an eventual solution to the parking problem, will make the borough’s retail shops and restaurants a bigger attraction to visitors.