Station area 6 · Lehigh & Southside
Farrington Square
Planning phase. An independent plan; nothing is funded or built yet. What this means
Campus edge and Southside retail · junction of the Spine and the River Line
Why here
Where the two Phase 1 lines meet at New & Morton streets, with timed transfers across a shared platform pair.
Where the Spine and River Line would meet on New St at Morton St: a shared pair of junction platforms.
Program ideas Proposed · planning phase
- Junction platforms
- Student-services kiosk and bike hub
- Affordable-food partners
- Station designed to face existing shops
Which extras are worth it here, maybe later, or not worth it is rated further down this page.
What exists today Existing today
- About 264 LANTA weekday trips within 400 m (2022 timetable data).
Measured station area
- Elevation
- 83 m (USGS 3DEP)
- 10-minute walk
- 113 ha · 656 buildings · 524 places
Walk areas are slope-adjusted 10-minute walksheds on the Overture pedestrian network; building and place counts are intensity proxies, not population or jobs.
Future train access On the rail-ready corridor
Sits on the rail-ready valley corridor at Farrington Square.
No passenger trains run in Bethlehem today, and no regional rail route or station has been chosen. Rail-ready stops are where this plan would keep space free. How this was measured.
Measured links
- Connect Spine — electric BRT: Lehigh University Center → Farrington Square · 0.86 km · ~2.3 min · max 10.1%
- Connect Spine — electric BRT: Farrington Square → Downtown / Broad Street · 1.83 km · ~3.3 min · max 6.3%
- River Line — upgraded EBS core: Downtown / Broad Street → Farrington Square · 1.83 km · ~3.3 min · max 6.3%
- River Line — upgraded EBS core: Farrington Square → Third St / SteelStacks · 0.67 km · ~1.6 min · max 5.2%
- Valley Express — bus option: Third St / SteelStacks → Farrington Square · 0.67 km · ~1.6 min · max 5.2%
- St. Luke's branch option A: Farrington Square → St. Luke's (Fountain Hill) · 1.67 km · ~3.8 min · max 10.5%
Stop options on the way
- 4th & WyandotteA candidate stop on St. Luke's branch option A, 0.73 km from here along the branch.
Still unknown
- Bus lanes on New St need traffic counts and a lane-use study
Amenities here: worth it or not Screening judgment
Busy Southside junction of the Spine and River Line (524 places, 264 trips) on a tight New St curb, which earns a bike hub, solar canopy, event staging space and rail-ready safeguarding now, while food, retail and study space wait for partners and existing ground floors.
Worth it here
- Secure bike lockers or bike hub, and bike-share docks: Line junction where the plan proposes a bike hub; the Greenway is ~170 m straight-line. Bike share only once an operator exists.
- Solar panels on the station canopy: The energy plan gives stop 6 a canopy. Check New St shading, crediting, and HCC review if in the conservation district.
- Event queuing and bus staging space: The plan stages surge buses here on move-in, commencement and game days; reserve curb space for temporary staging and queue lanes.
- Rail-ready space reservation: On the protected rail-ready valley corridor: reserve room to lengthen the platform to 60-90 m and keep the trackway clear.
Maybe later here
- Terminal bus charger (overhead pantograph): ~25 s dwells in Phase 1. Revisit only if the Valley Express option ends here and depot charging falls short.
- Food or coffee kiosk (partner-run): Passes the footfall test (524 places, 264 trips) and the plan proposes food partners, but none exists yet. Check existing shops first.
- Small shop space: Footfall passes, but only in an existing street-level ground floor facing the platform that can be leased (to confirm).
- Community lounge or study nook: The plan lists a study nook here, but there is no enclosed space or host yet, and it shouldn't duplicate campus lounges.
- Public art and heritage or geology display: No sourced display content yet; a panel only if the stop is inside the South Bethlehem Downtown Historic District (to confirm).
- Snow-melt at the platform edge: Valley stop at 82.8 m, but it shares the ~10% slope up to UC; measure the walking approach before heating anything.
- Driver restroom and break room: A through stop in Phase 1; if the Valley Express option ends here, arrange relief space in an existing building.
- Hospital and 24/7 shift-worker features: St. Luke's is 1,594 m away, but branch option A would start here; shift-timed transfers only if that branch is chosen.
Not worth it here
- Heated, enclosed waiting room: Valley stop with 10-minute service on both lines and timed transfers, so waits stay short. Wind-screened shelters are enough.
- Public restrooms: Busy, but a through junction with timed transfers rather than long waits, and no cleaning budget is identified.
- Staffed customer service: 264 trips is under the 300 bar and there is no intercity service. The student-services kiosk is a partner idea.
- Park-and-ride: Dense Southside core (656 buildings, 524 places), where parking would push out shops and platform space.
- Drop-off and paratransit loading zone: The New St curb is needed for junction platforms and possible bus lanes; use legal side-street loading within ~50 m.
- Battery energy storage: Open-air through stop; a small UPS covers the screens and help points.
- Equipment-lending lockers or package lockers: Tight New St platforms, no recreation partner within 250 m, and 656 buildings is under the 1,000 package-locker bar.
- Water bottle filler: Open-air junction with short timed waits; a new freeze-proof water line isn't justified unless a nearby building's tap can be shared.
- Elevators (in pairs), only at level changes: Curbside platforms where grading or ramps handle the 0.36 m rise; a lift link to UC applies only with a gondola terminal.
- Ground-source heat pumps (enclosed spaces only): Only open-air shelters here, and the valley's carbonate ground would need karst screening.
- Regional and intercity bus bays: No regional or intercity carrier stops here; they use the BTC downtown.
- Energy display with real solar and charging data: No charger and no live solar data until a canopy exists; the junction screen is needed for arrivals.
- Public Wi-Fi and phone charging: Open-air junction with ~5-minute timed waits; real-time screens already cover the information need.
Every stop also gets the essentials. Ratings are the author's screening judgment from measured data, not a design or a commitment.