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Committee forwards three capital amendments for intersection work, signal upgrades and street trees
Summary
The Allentown City Public Works Committee unanimously voted to forward three 2026 capital amendments—funding preliminary work on a Lehigh/Union intersection redesign, completing design for four signal upgrades on the 17th Street corridor, and accepting developer payments to plant new street trees—each to be considered by the full council.
The Public Works Committee voted to forward three amendments to the 2026 capital budget to the full Allentown City Council.
Bill 10 would accept a Local Share Account grant of $346,158 to fund preparatory capital work for a reconstruction at the Lehigh (Main?) and Union Street intersection. Shara, the department presenter, said the plan would remove an existing concrete island and replace it with a signalized intersection including ADA ramps, crosswalks and a pedestrian flasher to improve safety for students and neighborhood pedestrians. "There's a whole slew of improvements that we're looking at doing at that intersection," Shara said. He added the city also received a separate community-project grant of about $1,100,000 but remains roughly $500,000 short of the total cost and expects to begin work "within the next two years or so" if it secures additional funding.
Bill 18 would transfer $55,000 from a closed capital account into the design account for signal upgrades along the 17th Street corridor (17th at Linden, Turner, 2nd/Choo and Walnut). Shara told the committee the project received a $250,000 MTF/DCED design grant but was $55,000 short of completing the design work needed to put the corridor out to bid. He said the work will include updated signals, pedestrian countdowns, retroreflective backplates and emergency-vehicle preemption technology to give emergency responders priority through intersections.
Bill 19 would appropriate $55,295.39 from developer payments in lieu of on-site tree plantings to buy and plant new street trees across the city. Shara said the in-lieu payments come from several developments and that the Shade Tree Commission will meet monthly to allocate plantings; the city uses a standard calculation of $508.33 per tree to translate in-lieu funds into new plantings.
Each bill was moved and seconded at the committee and approved for forwarding to the full council. The committee recorded unanimous "aye" votes to move the items forward; no formal tallied roll-call votes were read into the committee record during the meeting. The clerk will place each ordinance on the full council agenda for final action.
Council members pressed for details about project timing and coordination: one member asked whether the 17th Street signal upgrades account for planned bike-lane work along the corridor; Shara said the intersections would be coordinated with the corridor plan and that the signal upgrades would tie into broader 17th Street improvements. On the Lehigh/Union project, members asked whether the plan was for a roundabout; Shara said it would be a signalized intersection rather than a roundabout and emphasized pedestrian-safety features and ADA ramps.
The committee also heard a brief public comment in favor of more city tree plantings and neighborhood Earth Day activities; one resident suggested neighborhoods use coordinated bulk ordering to lower tree costs. The committee chair said each ordinance will next appear before the full council for final votes.
The committee adjourned after concluding the three budget-item discussions.
