Station area 2 · South
Hellertown / Saucon Valley (Main St)
Planning phase. An independent plan; nothing is funded or built yet. What this means
Why here
Serves Hellertown and Saucon Valley residents, not just Lehigh — a walk-up stop on Main Street (Rt 412) near the Saucon Rail Trail.
Program ideas Proposed · planning phase
- Shelter with real-time information
- Bike parking
- Saucon Rail Trail wayfinding
Which extras are worth it here, maybe later, or not worth it is rated further down this page.
What exists today Existing today
- About 34 LANTA weekday trips within 400 m (2022 timetable data; service has changed since).
Measured station area
- Elevation
- 87 m (USGS 3DEP)
- 10-minute walk
- 144 ha · 1,750 buildings · 227 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 One Connect ride to a rail-ready stop
From Hellertown / Saucon Valley, about 5 minutes on Bethlehem Connect to the rail-ready stop at I-78 Park & Ride.
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: I-78 Park & Ride → Hellertown / Saucon Valley · 2.15 km · ~4.7 min · max 4.3%
- Connect Spine — electric BRT: Hellertown / Saucon Valley → Goodman / Stabler Arena · 2.13 km · ~4.6 min · max 3.2%
Still unknown
- Main Street parking and loading, to coordinate with the Borough
Amenities here: worth it or not Screening judgment
Walk-up Main Street stop (227 places, 34 trips) about 230 m straight-line from the Saucon Rail Trail, where the standard kit covers most needs and terminus items matter only if the PNR site falls through.
Worth it here
- Secure bike lockers or bike hub, and bike-share docks: The Saucon Rail Trail is about 230 m straight-line in the project's trail map (walk to confirm). Racks plus a few lockers.
- Solar panels on the station canopy: The energy plan puts solar on the standard canopy, cheaper at build time than later. Shading and crediting account to confirm.
Maybe later here
- Terminal bus charger (overhead pantograph): Not needed at a through stop with ~25 s dwells, unless the PNR site fails and HEL becomes the fallback terminus.
- Equipment-lending lockers or package lockers: 1,750 buildings passes the package-locker test, but only if Main St space allows and a vendor installs them free (to confirm).
- Water bottle filler: Useful for trail users only if an adjacent building's tap can be shared by agreement; a new freeze-proof line isn't worth it.
- Public art and heritage or geology display: The Great Unconformity sign on the Saucon Rail Trail at Landis Mill Rd could be a panel subject; distance to confirm.
- Driver restroom and break room: Not needed at a through stop; a must only if HEL becomes the fallback terminus because the PNR site can't be confirmed.
Not worth it here
- Heated, enclosed waiting room: Valley through stop at 86.7 m with 10-minute service (about a 5-minute wait). A wind-screened shelter is enough.
- Public restrooms: Low-use through stop with only 34 LANTA trips and short waits.
- Staffed customer service: Only 34 trips at a through stop, so the help point and real-time screens are enough.
- Park-and-ride: Walkable town core (1,750 buildings, 227 places), and the I-78 P&R is the next stop south.
- Drop-off and paratransit loading zone: The Main St curb is needed for the platform. Use legal loading on a side street within ~50 m, with the Borough.
- Battery energy storage: Open-air through stop with only lights, screens and a help point; a small UPS covers communications.
- Food or coffee kiosk (partner-run): Below the 500/200 test (227 places, 34 trips), and it would compete with Main St shops. Point riders to them.
- Small shop space: Below the footfall test, and it would duplicate the Main St shops next to the stop.
- Community lounge or study nook: Open-air platform with no host partner.
- Event queuing and bus staging space: No venue of 5,000+ capacity within a 10-minute walk.
- Elevators (in pairs), only at level changes: Curbside platform with no level change, so ramps are enough.
- Ground-source heat pumps (enclosed spaces only): Open-air shelter with no enclosed space to heat.
- Snow-melt at the platform edge: Valley stop at 86.7 m on gentle grades (max 4.3%), so the snow and ice plan covers it.
- Regional and intercity bus bays: No regional or intercity carrier stops here; Route 105's P&R stop is at PNR.
- Rail-ready space reservation: Not on the protected rail-ready corridor; PNR, the nearest rail-ready stop, is 4.7 minutes away by bus.
- Hospital and 24/7 shift-worker features: No 24/7 employer with about 2,000 staff within 400 m in the project files.
- Energy display with real solar and charging data: No charger and only canopy solar, and the open-air screen is needed for arrival times.
- Public Wi-Fi and phone charging: Open-air through stop with ~5-minute 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.