BETHLEHEM, Pa. - More people. More warehouses. More traffic.
The LehighValleyNews.com series The Road Ahead explored several transportation and traffic safety issues in the Lehigh Valley.
On Thursday, PBS39 will air “A Community Conversation: The Road Ahead” – an hourlong show with special guests that touches on reporting in the series.
The program, which begins at 6 p.m., will be held in front of a live studio audience. You can register free to be in the audience.
Before the program starting at 5 p.m., and afterward at 7 p.m., visitors will have exclusive access to St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Simulation in Motion Truck, with EMS simulations and CPR demonstrations.
PBS39 Executive Producer Brittany Sweeney will host the televised program. Among the topics for discussion:
- The busiest stretches of highway in the Lehigh Valley have gained 30, 40 and 50 percent more traffic in just the last 10 years.
- There are more than twice as many tractor-trailers on Route 22 near the Lehigh River bridge today than there were in 2014.
- The nearly $5 billion in funding identified for Lehigh Valley road projects over the next 25 years is about $2.5 billion short of needs.
- Drunken- or impaired-driving arrests are up 42% in Lehigh County in the last five years.
- Crashes caused by distracted driving in Pennsylvania have overtaken alcohol-related ones.
Guests on the show include:
- Chris Kufro, PennDOT District 5 Executive Director
- Matt Assad, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
- Tom Shortell, Reporter, LehighValleyNews.com
- Owen O'Neil, LANTA Executive Director
- Gavin Holihan, Lehigh County District Attorney
- Trooper Nathan Branosky, Pennsylvania State Police
- Kate Huangpu, Reporter, Spotlight PA
- Theresa Podguski, Director of Legislative Affairs, AAA East Central
- Eric Drosnock, Licensed Professional Therapist, Ellie Mental Health Services
Watch PBS39's “A Community Conversation: The Road Ahead” streaming at PBS39.org and on LehighValleyNews.com’s Facebook. You can also watch on PBS39's YouTube.