BETHLEHEM — The town of Bethlehem is planning improvements along Delaware Avenue between Elsmere Avenue and the city of Albany, with the goal, according to a release from the town, of creating a safer, more inviting environment for all users.

The town, with engineering firm CHA Consulting Inc., will hold a public meeting on Thursday, June 15, at 6:30 p.m. at Elsmere Avenue Elementary School to introduce the public to the project, review existing roadway and traffic conditions, discuss the project development process, and present preliminary design concepts.

Delaware Avenue is one of Bethlehem’s primary main streets, connecting the town to the city of Albany to the east and the more rural parts of Albany County to the west, while also providing access to residential neighborhoods to the north and south.

The primary goal of the project is to create a more balanced transportation system along Delaware Avenue by increasing safety, otherwise known as Complete Streets, and to make the area more attractive and accessible for the business community.

Examples of changes that the project will analyze include installing “gateway features”; adding high-visibility, signalized midblock pedestrian crossings and refuge islands; providing handicap-accessible sidewalk ramps; and consolidating existing driveways or reducing widths of driveway openings.

The project will also include repaving the roadway surface. While the project does not include a reduction in the number of travel lanes throughout Delaware Avenue as originally envisioned, these potential changes can help address longstanding challenges in this critical transportation corridor.

Additional community engagement for the project design will occur throughout 2023 and into early 2024, with construction planned to begin in 2025. To learn more about the project, visit DelAveCompleteStreets.com.

Following the June 15 meeting, the project website will contain an interactive map of the various alternatives for the public to provide their thoughts and feedback, which will help inform the design concepts.