Bethlehem, April 20, 2022 – State Senator Lisa Boscola today announced $1.03 million in funding for two projects in the 18th Senatorial District for Transportation Alternative Projects that will aid in pedestrian safety in Easton and provide greater access to the Iron Rail Trail in Whitehall Township through the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program.
“Providing funding for pedestrian safety projects and providing greater access to off road trails improve the quality of life for residents of and visitors to the Lehigh Valley and our Commonwealth,” Senator Boscola stated. “These two grants totaling slightly over $1 million will ensure these improvements get made as expeditiously as possible.”
The grants awarded were as follows:
- Lafayette College: $710,000 to install traffic-calming devices such as curb bump-outs and marked crosswalks, and add light fixtures, bicycle racks, benches, landscaping, and street trees; and,
- Whitehall Township: $320,000 to expand the Ironton Rail Trail trailhead parking area to double the capacity from 36 to 72 spaces, pave the entire 72-space parking area, and construct stormwater management improvements including a bioretention rain garden.
The Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TASA) program provides funding for projects and activities defined as transportation alternatives. Projects eligible for TASA funding include on- and off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities, infrastructure projects for improving non-driver access to public transportation and enhanced mobility, community improvement activities, and environmental mitigation, trails that serve a transportation purpose, and safe routes to school projects. Funding for both of these projects were a result of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), enacted as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
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