Lehighton has approved a concept plan associated with safety improvements for its waterfront area.

On a 6-0 vote, borough council last week agreed to proceed with the updated concept plan for the Multimodal Transportation fund grant for Sgt. Stanley Hoffman Boulevard.

Ashley Eichlin, of Barry Isett & Associates, reviewed the alternative concept design with council, which she said would result in traffic calming measures.

Eichlin said they decided to keep the ADA ramps and crosswalks, and added there would be a speed indicator posted on Stanley Hoffman Boulevard.

The new plan includes a walking path along Lehigh Drive; pedestrian beacon lights; instead of bump-outs, there would be a textured surface in the turning lane similar to a rumble strip; decorative crosswalks; and solar power speed monitors to tell motorists their actual speed.

Borough Manager Nicole Beckett recommended to council that it make a motion to approve the concept plans with all the other details to come once they go out to final design.

Last month, Bryan Smith, of Barry Isett & Associates, reviewed the conceptual plan with council, which he said would make things safer for pedestrians, and also help the borough’s MS4 program.

Smith said at that time the bump-outs would serve dual purposes in that they would slow traffic and help with the borough’s stormwater management.

Borough engineer Bruce Steigerwalt said at that time that based on what he observed from having worked down on Stanley Hoffman Boulevard, slowing the traffic down could prove a real task.

Afterward, council at that meeting deadlocked on a 3-3 vote to proceed with the bump-outs. With Councilman Donnie Rehrig absent, Mayor Clark Ritter, in his capacity, opted against the measure and cast the deciding vote in opposition.

Essentially, council asked Smith to come back with a revised plan without the bump-outs, but rather with lines being painted on the road to show how they would conceptually address speeding without using bump-outs, and agreed to proceed with the concept plan for the Multimodal Transportation fund grant for Sgt. Stanley Hoffman Boulevard.

Previously, council agreed to have the first phase of the safety improvements in Lehighton’s Waterfront area to be designed and bid, and proceed with the engineering proposal of $48,000.

Beckett noted that the borough has received a total of $480,000; $250,000 through the Multimodal Transportation Fund Program that was received last month, and $230,000 from Local Share funds that were awarded in 2020.

The work along Sgt. Stanley Hoffman Boulevard and Lehigh Drive would include a 6-foot-wide walkway, crosswalks, curb extensions, ADA ramps and signs.

In addition, the continuous left-turn lane along the boulevard would be removed.

That project stems from a waterfront traffic study that was completed last year at the recommendation of council for the existing conditions, and to prepare for future growth.