By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN – Municipal officials are waiting to hear if Allentown will receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds that will pay for additional streetscape upgrades.
In a report she presented during the Aug. 9 meeting of the Borough Council, Acting Municipal Clerk Laurie Gavin said word may come in September notifying officials if Monmouth County will provide CDBG funding to Allentown.
Gavin later told the Examiner an application has been made to extend the Historic Streetscape project up North Main Street, Waker Avenue and Church Street. The amount being requested is $200,000.
Gavin said the anticipated work is similar in scope to the streetscape that was previously completed with 100 percent grant funding on Main Street. The second phase would include sidewalks that would be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and ramps and curbing to enhance the walkability of the community.
The limits of the proposed improvements are Church Street (Route 526) from Main Street to the borough limits; North Main Street (Route 539) from Waker Avenue to the borough limits; and Waker Avenue (Route 526) from North Main Street to the borough limits, according to the CDBG project description.
The proposed improvements will create a direct ADA-compliant route from the residential section of Allentown to the downtown district, Sensei Park, Heritage Park, the municipal building, the police department, library, local businesses and restaurants, recreational facilities and places of worship, according to the project description.
The project that borough officials are planning will tie into recent improvements completed under the borough’s Historic Streetscape Improvements – Phase I project which encompassed the center of the borough and nearly the entire main business district. The Historic Streetscape Improvements project was completed using a $172,308 CDBG (fiscal year 2013), according to the project description.
In other business at the Aug. 9 meeting, officials said police are investigating a recent incident in which a truck coming down Church Street (Route 526) and turning right onto Main Street struck and demolished several planters. They said this was the fourth such incident at that corner in recent months.
Officials said the accident was not caused by the speed at which the truck was traveling, but reflects a situation in which large trucks have difficulty navigating the turns from Church Street, which is narrow, onto Main Street.
They said that despite the narrowness of Church Street and the size of modern trucks, the street remains a designated truck route, as authorized by authorities outside of Allentown.
Mayor Greg Westfall and council members said the latest incident is another example of why they are attempting to have non-terminating truck traffic (i.e., trucks that are not making a stop in Allentown) prohibited in the borough.
Officials said witnesses saw the truck driver get out of his vehicle, check the damage and then get back in his truck and flee the scene.
Westfall said Allentown’s representatives are working with Monmouth County officials and the state Department of Transportation to address the issue. He said truck traffic is banned on portions of county routes 524, 526 and 539, so there is precedent for asking for the prohibition of certain trucks in Allentown.
The next meeting of the council is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 13.