BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Whether you travel Interstate 78, Route 22, or on Cedar Crest Boulevard, you know the Lehigh Valley is infamous for traffic headaches.
Our LehighValleyNews.com special series, The Road Ahead, was inspired by numerous comments and emails about the issue.
Reporter Tom Shortell dove into the subject for months, along with several members of our newsroom. You can read the series here.
Tom recently sat down with 91.3 FM WLVR host Megan Frank during a special traffic and transportation episode of Insights with LehighValleyNews.com to unpack what he learned.
During the episode, which you can listen via the audio players below, Megan and Tom also respond to listener comments.
Adam Smull, of Bethlehem, shared his concerns about the intersection of Broadway, Susquehanna Street, Emmaus Avenue, and Seidersville Road in Salisbury Township.
He said southbound traffic on Broadway tends to snarl here, creating a dangerous situation.
“The intersection itself isn’t the problem," Smull said. "It’s right above it where Susquehanna Street has a right of way, and folks coming from Broadway in Fountain Hill cut across it to make a left to get to that four way intersection.
"Unfortunately, I can’t think of any easy ways to resolve the mess there. But maybe painting some clearer lines on the road could help to make it easier to determine who has the right of way — and where.”
Tom's response includes a rundown of how PennDOT identifies and approaches issues like this, which he says can take years to address due to a backlog of projects and lack of funds.
Tom and Megan also review the results of a driver’s ed quiz that was released on LehighValleyNews.com and go over the not-so-good results.
During Tom's reporting, he spoke with Bethlehem Police Lt. Will Audelo, who said he sees a need for more driver education.
“We do have to instill that culture of safe driving. Being mindful of each other, being mindful of pedestrians, bicyclists and kids going to school," Audelo said. "And just kind of putting others in front of yourself when you're driving, because everybody’s got to go somewhere, and they all want to get there safely.”
If you want to get in on the traffic conversation, sign up for Tom’s weekly newsletter, The Road Scholar.
