ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Some Allentown roads could soon look and feel a little different after the city recently got a six-figure federal grant.
The U.S. Transportation Department recently awarded $384,000 to Allentown through its Safe Streets and Roads for All program.
The city will use that money to create high-visibility crosswalks, repaint roads and test other “traffic-calming” methods, according to officials.
“I'm looking forward to implementing changes that will slow things down and make things safer for all of our roadway users."Mayor Matt Tuerk
The grant also will fund new speed humps, both temporary and permanent, near city parks and schools.
Those “investments … will save lives here in Allentown,” Mayor Matt Tuerk told LehighValleyNews.com.
“I'm looking forward to implementing changes that will slow things down and make things safer for all of our roadway users."
‘Safe Streets’ program
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey announced about two years ago that Allentown was due to land a $312,000 grant from the Safe Streets for All program, which was part of federal Infrastructure Law approved in 2021.
Lawmakers earmarked $5 billion over the next five years to fund regional, local and Tribal initiatives that try to prevent deaths and serious injuries on roadways.
"More than 4,000 crashes were reported in 2023 on Allentown roads, including 136 that involved pedestrians, according to statistics provided by the city. Five pedestrians were killed last year, and a dozen others were seriously injured."Allentown statistics
Tuerk, Casey and a slew of other officials launched the city’s Safe Streets for All project in April outside the Lehigh & New England Railroad Station on Hanover Avenue.
Speaking at a podium on the sidewalk, Tuerk referred to the roadway behind him as “The Curve of Death.” Residents watching that news conference called it the “Hanover Racetrack.”
The main goal of the city’s Safe Streets for All project is to eliminate all serious injuries and deaths on city roadways by 2030.
More than 4,000 crashes were reported in 2023 on Allentown roads, including 136 that involved pedestrians, according to statistics provided by the city.
Five pedestrians were killed last year, and a dozen others were seriously injured, those stats show.
Fatal totals for 2024
Six pedestrians have been fatally hit by vehicles in Allentown in 2024, according to Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio.
Married couple Frank, 83, and Marcella Wyant, 80, died in early May shortly after they were hit by a car while walking near West Chew and North Main streets, Buglio said.
The driver stopped after hitting the Wyants and cooperated with the investigation. Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan in September declined to provide an update on that investigation.
A Lackawanna County man — Li-Qiang Hu, 42 — died at a local hospital after a car hit him June 25 near Hamilton Family Restaurant, officials said.
Miguel Angel DeJesus, 70, was killed by a vehicle July 28.
And a 51-year-old woman died by suicide by vehicle May 23, Buglio said Tuesday.
The coroner’s count also includes the death of 90-year-old Evelyn Rushatz, who was run over Aug. 5 in a parking lot of a business in the 100 block of North Cedar Crest Boulevard.
That business is part of a block in South Whitehall Township but surrounded by Allentown.
South Whitehall Township Police investigated that fatal crash, Buglio said.
A full breakdown of 2024 crash-related data was not immediately available from the city.
