Resident Requests Furnace Street Be Made One-Way

On Monday, Hellertown Borough Council members vetoed a request by a resident that tiny Furnace Street be made one-way, at least temporarily, while parts of Route 412 in the borough and the city of Bethlehem are undergoing a $36 million upgrade.

The resident said Furnace Street—which has parking on its east side—is being used as a detour due to the construction, borough manager Cathy Kichline reported to council.

In order for a street to be made one-way, a traffic study would have to be conducted at the borough's expense, she explained.

Council member Joe Pampanin, who said he regularly drives down Furnace, commented that he hasn't observed a significant increase in traffic since the Route 412 project began.

On occasion, "you may have to pull over to let another car through," he said.

Council president Phil Weber said he fears changing traffic configurations in the borough at this point, as doing so could make a bad situation worse.

"The roads are so bad right now, changing one road could just… It’s just going to move it somewhere else," he said.

Council agreed not to pursue a traffic study for Furnace Street, which links Thomas Avenue and Bachman Street on the west side of Main Street (Route 412).

Council vice president John Bate was absent from the meeting.

Photo: An aerial view of Furnace Street, north of Thomas Avenue, in Hellertown (image source: Google Maps screen shot).