As always on the last Friday of the month, CAT-Coalition for Appropriate Transportation and LANTA-Lehigh And Northampton Transportation Authority, are holding Try Transit Day, March 28.
The purpose of Try Transit Day is to encourage people who have never tried public transportation to try riding the bus. By raising awareness of the importance of public transportation we hope to improve the lives of those who ride the bus not only while riding the bus, but safe pedestrian access to and from the bus, too.
This month we highlight the difference between a community/retail effort (Bethlehem/Giant) that encourages public transportation and a community/retail combination that ignores or even bans public transportation (Hanover Township (Northampton County)/Wegman's). All Wegman's stores have a corporate policy against allowing public transportation onto their property and none of the three Wegmans stores in the Lehigh Valley enjoy public transportation into their store parking lots. In addition it is difficult for employees and shoppers to get from the bus to the Wegmans stores because of unsafe pedestrian access to and from the closest bus stop. In contrast Giant has ten stores in the two county region and all enjoy excellent access by public transportation, so we know it can be done with a little consideration and thought. The Try Transit Day program will show what a difference concern for employees and shoppers can make in the day to day lives of Lehigh Valley residents who ride the bus.
We will take a bus and walk to the Wegman's store in Bethlehem on Route 512 and to the Giant on Union Boulevard in Bethlehem. We will leave the CAT office on the S bus at 11:20 AM and arrive at 512 and Highland at 11:35. We will access Wegmans on foot from this bus stop. We will need to cross heavily trafficked roads in order to do this. We will then return on the 12:40 S bus arriving at CAT Office/Lehigh Valley Bike/Ped Transit Center at Broad & Guetter around 1:00 PM. We will take the 1:20 G bus to Giant on Union Blvd. which is easily accessed from the closest bus stop. When this Giant first opened a sidewalk was paid for partially by Giant to facilitate bus riders and the City of Bethlehem worked with the retail outlets along Union Blvd to improve safe pedestrian access along this route to and from the bus stops. To return to the CAT office we will use this sidewalk route and cross Union Boulevard at Club Avenue to catch the G bus back to downtown Bethlehem at 1:45.
--
CAT Office
60 West Broad Street #97
Bethlehem, PA 18018
cat@car-free.org
610 954 5744
Please consider joining CAT today!
Download CAT's Membership Application:
http://www.car-free.org/guts/MembershipDriveLetter.doc