Lehighton officials are proposing a traffic signal at Ninth and Bridge streets, the site where an elementary center is being constructed.

At a special meeting on Monday, borough council adopted a resolution to have the borough manager submit an application for traffic signal approval to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.School district officials have approved $33 million for the construction of a K-5 elementary center on the district's main campus.Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver and school board solicitor William Schwab attended the meeting on behalf of the district.The district would be responsible for the construction of the traffic light and cost of construction, while the borough would be responsible for the maintenance of the light and take ownership once constructed.The four corners of the intersection would be handicapped accessible, officials said.Councilman Scott Rehrig, who participated in the meeting via Skype, said, "I think the main word here is safety."Rehrig asked if the properties located within the proposed left turn lanes, have been contacted.Schwab said they have, and that only one person expressed reservations.Last month, council agreed to have its solicitor draft an ordinance for a "right turn only" on Ninth Street from Union Street to improve safety at an intersection used by students to leave the high school campus.Borough Manager Nicole Beckett said the ordinance has been put on hold.Borough Police Chief Brian Biechy said at that time there needs to be some form of traffic control.Beckett said delineators have been installed to direct traffic to the right, along with signs posted for right turns only.However, in order to enforce signs, an ordinance needs to be adopted, Beckett said.There is only one exit from the district due to construction of the new elementary center, creating even more of a concern, she said.Other discussion points included:• The borough would need to apply for a highway occupancy permit.• The borough would need to approve parking restrictions and maintain proposed "no parking" signs.A copy of the ordinance must be forwarded to PennDOT for the highway occupancy permit.• The borough's review comments and approvals must be submitted with resubmission by the district.• Signal easements would need to be obtained.• The borough and district should consider a memorandum of understanding and escrow for traffic signal maintenance.• Right turn only and delineators from Union to Ninth Street need to be removed as it would cause issues with a traffic study and delay the traffic signal/highway occupancy permit process.• A separate agreement from the district might be needed on legal/engineering costs for traffic signal paperwork.