The City of Bethlehem’s Elm Street Program is called the North by Northwest Neighborhood Initiative. www.nbnw-bpa.org The target area is comprised of neighborhoods North and West of downtown, hence the name.
Their plan (http://www.bethlehem-pa.gov/dept/planning_Zoning_Permits/elmstreet/index.htm ), includes tree planting on all the streets where trees are possible. So far they have planted about 300 trees and have another 300 to go. They have done a tree inventory with GPS tools and imputed the data into the City’s GIS system for use in planning future plantings, and City Forester/Public Works use for maintenance issues. The species, size, condition, sidewalk treatment and presence/type of overhead wires were included in the inventory. This will be updated on an ongoing basis to keep it as current as possible. The next planting should take place in Spring and Fall of 2011 along some of the major traffic routes in the NbNW neighborhoods. The group also plans to raise money for more tree planting through sales of Salsa.
Cameras have been placed in Fairview and Friendship Parks and are monitored by the Bethlehem Police Department. These cameras serve as a force multiplier giving police eyes on the park and recording capability 24/7/365. Parks close at night and this gives police a way to spot late night activity in the parks and roll a unit to disperse gatherings. It’s also a way to watch out for fights, graffiti or other unwanted activity in the parks. With the cameras comes the ability to implement WiFi in the parks which is something the Task Force is looking into implementing in the future.
Also in the parks is the very successful Movies, Games & More project. Now with 3 seasons under their belt they have shown lots of family friendly movies in these parks and have a loyal following. Season 4 planning is already underway for Summer 2011. Often the movies include additional programming prior to the movie screening. A flying saucer which was used in the movie Mars Attacks landed at Fairview Park. The National Guard was called out to investigate and promptly captured the ship and took it to a secret location. Alien ladies from the Martian Tourism bureau were also captured. Dr. Gary DeLeo from Lehigh University did a Mars Fact and Fiction presentation that night and the group also had a working remote controlled Mars Rover Replica prowling the park unsuccessfully looking for intelligent life on Earth. At Kung Fu Panda, Friendship Park was decorated to look like Po’s Village and Tai Kwon Do and Tai Chi were demonstrated. Neighbors also had the chance to try on traditional Chinese clothing, sample dumplings, see their name written in calligraphy and learn how Celebration Fireworks puts on the Bethlehem 4th of July Fireworks show. In 2010 the NbNW Neighborhood Initiative ran the successful Stoketoberfest Ski Film Festival in October at the Ice House showing ski films and getting the young ski crowd ready for winter. That event drew people to Bethlehem from NY, NJ, DE and MD. Check out their website at www.moviesgamesnmore.org for information on upcoming events and volunteering. Follow us on Twitter @studioboss18018.
Pedestrian Safety and walkability are big parts of their plan. The group has upgraded several crosswalks within the neighborhoods on routes to school and installed bike racks at the parks and a grocery store. Bike hitches along Broad Street have been installed. More crosswalks and bike enhancements are planned.
The housing stock is not being overlooked in their plan. The group has come up with a sustainable program for façade loans with a 15% grant component called the Best Front Forward Program. This loan/grant program helps homeowners improve their façade in the style appropriate to the homes design. This work will lift the property value of their home as well as the other houses on the block. Hopefully it will foster others to participate or undertake efforts on their own. There is architectural advice included in the program from either Spillman Farmer of George Donovan and Associates for homeowners needing some help deciding what’s appropriate for their home. Several projects are being completed as this is posted.
Lehigh County has helped the group with a $30,000 grant towards the planning of a West Broad Street Streetscape Enhancement Project as well as an additional $23,000.00 for various streetscape amenities. The approvals from PennDot are imminent and work will probably get underway in the spring of 2011. The 3rd Avenue Route 378 interchange is considered the primary gateway to downtown Bethlehem and this is an important project to connect the core downtown with the West Broad Street business corridor. Parking improvements are also being considered.
Check back for updates, follow them on Twitter @nbnwbpa or look for the North by Northwest Neighborhood Initiative on Facebook. You can sign up for their email updates on their websites on the right side at the bottom of the right sidebar. There are over 20 choices for areas of interest. Lehigh County thinks the core areas of it’s cities, towns and boroughs are important and supports the efforts of the North by Northwest Neighborhood Initiative.