Politics & Government

Borough Council Approves New Traffic Count

Before work begins at the intersection of Main Street and Cherry Lane, Hellertown officials want to know how many cars are traveling through it each day.

It's one of the busiest intersections in the Hellertown area, and borough officials want to know how much busier it's become since last year.

At their March 21 meeting, Hellertown Borough Council members approved funding a traffic count at Main Street and Cherry Lane, in order to better gauge what type of impact traffic to and from the casino in Bethlehem is having on the northern end of the Route 412 corridor.

Borough Manager Cathy Kichline said the count will cost about $1,300, and recommended that council spend the money in order to get an accurate current picture of how busy the intersection adjacent to I-78 has become.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It's probably not a bad idea...to see if those numbers have increased even since last year," when the last traffic count at Cherry and Main was taken, Kichline said.

Council President Phil Weber agreed.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I think it's important to keep that going, especially when they're going to change that roadway," Weber said, referring to intersection upgrades the Pennsylvania Department of Transporation plans to make.

Weber added that the work on the intersection most likely won't begin any time soon.

"It hasn't even gone to bid yet," he said of the contract for the improvements.

"(PennDOT) will definitely need to make a presentation to council," Kichline added.

Weber also stressed that the new traffic count should be taken at the same time of year as the traffic count from last year, in order to present an accurate picture.

Councilman Thomas Rieger said getting an accurate traffic count before the work on the intersection begins will help borough officials better understand how effective the redesign is, after the upgrade is completed.

A motion to approve getting the traffic count was supported unanimously.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here