If you ventured over to Bethlehem’s website after reading my post yesterday you may have stumbled across a really interesting report from 2009 on ways that we can improve the walkability of our downtown. The main premise of the study is that a successful city is one where people are walking. In order to get people to walk it is suggested that there must be:
- A reason to walk (balance of uses)
- A safe walk (reality and perception)
- A comfortable walk (space and orientation)
- An interesting walk (signs of humanity)
The report discusses the current state of the city and then provides specific and general recommendations for improvement. Even if you don’t have time to read through the entire report, it’s worth your time to read the summary on the city website and contemplate how we can continue to improve our two downtowns and make Bethlehem an even better place for residents and visitors alike. I am proud of the improvements we’ve already made and would absolutely like to see us continue to look into the recommendations in the report.
One response to “A More Walkable Downtown”
One of the things that has kept us here and living in the DT historic district is that we can walk to so many things.
A few ideas for improvement
1 – A decent grocery store bigger than a bodega but not as big as Giant – perhaps a smaller version of Wegmans
2 – Better traffic control and enforcement of cars stopping at crosswalks on Main Street
3 – A Liquor store and a decent news stand would be nice