BETHLEHEM — Last month, the Bethlehem Town Board approved resolutions allowing it to move forward with its long fought-for Complete Streets project, which would scale down a portion of Delaware Avenue, from where it intersects with Elsmere Avenue down to the Albany city line, to make it safer for travelers and more accommodating for businesses.

The project — which is estimated to run between $6 million and $7 million depending on bids — is a revival of an effort that began in 2016 but had run into trouble with town residents and business owners, who rejected it after initiating a permissive referendum in 2021. 

This time, the proposal has the backing of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce.

As then, the resolutions funding the current iteration of the project are subject to a permissive referendum, with a petition due within 30 days of the resolutions’ passage on May 14. Town Clerk Kim Whitsitt told The Enterprise that no petition had been filed as of June 6. 

Following the rejection of the initial project by voters, who were largely concerned that reducing the number of lanes on the major roadway would reduce traffic and hurt businesses, the town revised the project so that it keeps the existing four-lane system from where Delaware Avenue intersects Elsmere Avenue until just after Delaware Plaza, as the town’s senior planner, Robert Leslie, laid out for the board at its May 14 meeting. 

The project will, however, reduce the travel lane width to 11 feet, down from 12 and 14 feet, to create a larger shoulder between the road and sidewalk, and the speed limit will be reduced from 40 miles-per-hour to 30. Sidewalks will be replaced as necessary along the whole stretch of road. 

Leslie said that one of the most significant changes to the plan is the addition of a five-foot median between Bedell and Snowden avenues that will connect two crosswalks from one of the roads to the other, allowing pedestrians to stop safely in the middle. A flashing beacon can be used by walkers to let traffic know they’re planning to cross, since there will be no traffic lights at the crosswalks. 

Past the plaza, the four-lane system will slim down to two 12-foot lanes, with a wide, 6-foot shoulder and 12-foot median/turning lane taking up the difference. 

The roadway will continue in that same pattern to the city line, with two additional raised medians. 

As the town works on Delaware Avenue, it will also improve water main lines.

Schedule and funding

The schedule for the project is as follows, according to a town memo:

— Advertise and solicit bids in May this year;

— Award contracts by the end of July;

— Begin Phase 1 construction in August, which will include “waterline upgrades at side street intersections with Delaware Avenue, utility pole relocations, gateway wall treatment, and limited sidewalk replacement,” to be completed by the end of November; and

— Begin Phase 2 construction in spring of next year, which will include the installation of medians, repaving of the road, and sidewalk replacement and driveway work.

The low estimate for the project total is $6.1 million, while the high one is $6.9 million. 

The project is largely being funded by grants, with the town having secured around $5.9 million in two grants through the New York State Department of Transportation. The roughly $1-million water-line portion will be covered by the town’s water district. 

Businessman James Giacone, who owns the Delaware Avenue restaurant My Place & Co., told the board at the May 14 meeting that he was pleased with the progress on the proposal, saying the process had been “very transparent” since the referendum defeat. 

“The business community would like to thank you,” he said.

Terri Egan, of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, likewise gave a glowing review of the town’s response to business owners and their concerns, and expressed her approval.

“We are very excited to get [the project] kicked off,” she said. “More excited in regard to the town's willingness to listen to the businesses, listen to their comments as well as work with them in regard to their operations. So, we are really thrilled … And if there's anything that the Chamber of Commerce can do, I know we’re working towards some communication pieces, but we stand here ready, willing, and able to help and assist with that.”