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Bethlehem ConnectPlanning phase — home

Long-Term Vision

Built to expand — without promising what doesn't exist yet

Planning phase. An independent plan; nothing is funded or built yet. What this means

Phase 1 (conditional target 2029) is buses on existing streets in and around Bethlehem and Hellertown; Phase 2 (conditional target 2030) would add bus corridors to neighboring towns. This page explains how the plan keeps room for more later — express service, extra tracks, regional links, rail — and labels each idea honestly as long-term or speculative.
Long-term ideaSpeculative vision

Illustrative horizons, each step gated

2029 and 2030 are conditional targets, not commitments: they depend on a sponsor adopting the route, funding and operating partners, and comparable projects often slipped 1–2 years. Dates beyond 2030 are illustrative. Every step needs its own sponsor, funding and approvals, and only happens if ridership and money justify it.

By 2029–2030 — Phase 1, then Phase 2 (conditional)

Phase 1 by 2029: the Spine and River Line, with the options (Valley Express, St. Luke's, the Airport Link, the gondola if its studies support it) and extensions where studies, funding and demand support them. Phase 2 by 2030: corridors past Bethlehem, only if LANTA agrees. See Bethlehem 2030.

2031–2035 — complete the network

Full dedicated lanes where data support them; any option or extension whose studies or funding came later (the gondola most likely); express service only if measured triggers are met.

2035–2045 — regional and rail

Valley rail or electric subway decision only if ridership and funding gates are met; express tiers linked to intercity rail; an Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton network. Rail must coexist with trails on former rail corridors.

2045+ — beyond Bethlehem (speculative)

Other Pennsylvania regions and US cities adopt an open playbook — each with its own sponsor, funding and approvals — with hub-to-hub links between them.

Prepared for the long term: ten design rules

Most are cheap: put corridors on official maps, reserve space, publish open data.
  1. 1Put the corridor on the map nowPennsylvania's Municipalities Planning Code lets a town's official map show transit rights-of-way; when an owner applies to develop mapped land, the town gets a year to negotiate. It buys time, not land.
  2. 2Keep old rail corridors wholeFederal railbanking lets an unused rail line become a trail and still be restored to rail later — only when a railroad files to abandon a line and agrees.
  3. 3Buy land early only through the proper federal path49 U.S.C. 5323(q) lets FTA help buy right-of-way before environmental review is done; nothing can be built until review is complete.
  4. 4Reserve width for the final number of tracks, build two firstOregon's safety rules require at least 15 ft (4.57 m) between main tracks (Illinois sets the same between main and side tracks); high-speed rail design uses 16.5 ft. A railroad sharing the line may require more.
  5. 5Build platforms for the longest future trainDallas (DART) lengthened platforms at 28 light-rail stations to 450 ft for 3-car trains, at about $129M. Lengthening later is expensive.
  6. 6Get express service from passing points firstCaltrain's passing tracks at two locations let Baby Bullet expresses run San Francisco–San Jose in ~57 min vs. ~90 min for locals.
  7. 7Add BRT passing lanes when bus volumes call for themThe BRT Standard is reported to give full credit without station passing lanes below about 20 buses an hour (a third-party reproduction of the scorecard; to confirm with ITDP), counting every bus that uses the station.
  8. 8Publish open data from day one, accessibility includedGTFS-Realtime best practice: refresh at least every 30 s. GTFS records whether each stop and trip is wheelchair accessible — a rider needs both.
  9. 9Feed the network that exists; stay flexible on regional railLANTA EBS already runs every 15 minutes between Allentown and Bethlehem. The regional rail study has not picked a route.
  10. 10Follow the federal steps and test ridership honestlyIndiana's Double Track NWI changed federal programs after ridership fell, then won its grant agreement in January 2021.

Sources: PA Municipalities Planning Code Art. IV (official map; statute text to confirm); 16 U.S.C. 1247(d) and Surface Transportation Board rules (railbanking); 49 U.S.C. 5323(q); Oregon OAR 741-315-0010 and Illinois 92 IAC 1500.120 (track centers); California HSR TM 1.1.21; DART platform extension program; Caltrain; ITDP BRT Planning Guide and BRT Standard (2024); GTFS-Realtime best practices; LVPC rail study (2024) and Phase II. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026.

Service tiers that can grow

Illustrative stopping patterns — not decided and not proposed service. Express trips need room to pass all-stop vehicles.
Chart of stopping patterns on the nine Connect Spine stations: local feeders, all-stop at every station, express at I-78 Park & Ride, Hellertown, Lehigh UC, Downtown and Linden & Elizabeth, and ultra-express from the Park & Ride to Downtown with a branch to ABE airport (opens the full-size image)
On the nine Spine stations: local feeders → all-stop (Phase 1) → express → ultra-express with a branch to ABE airport. Third Street is served by the River Line, not the Spine. Express and ultra-express patterns are illustrative only.

1 · Local Exists (LANTA)

LANTA local routes and campus shuttles that feed the stations.

2 · Connect all-stop Phase 1 · conditional target 2029

Spine and River Line, every station, every 10 minutes in Phase 1.

3 · Express Long-term idea

Limited-stop trips added on top of all-stop service, studied only if measured ridership triggers are met. Skipping Spine stations would save little: about 2.5 of 34.6 minutes (7%) for the illustrative pattern (model), because the stations are already far apart; from the Park & Ride to Downtown the same pattern would save about 1.8 minutes (6%). Real savings are often smaller than modeled (El-Geneidy and Surprenant-Legault, 2010; a lead retrieved 19 Oct 2026). More value could come from peak park-and-ride or event trips. The Valley Express option is not an express: it is faster to Farrington (9.1 against 25.6 minutes from the Park & Ride, model) because of its route: shorter, flatter and partly at highway speed.

4 · Ultra-express Speculative vision

Nonstop hub-to-hub links, both ways: Downtown ↔ Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE), timed to existing intercity buses; later, a hand-off at a shared station to whatever regional or intercity rail is eventually built, run by others. The Airport Link (a Phase 1 option, one stop on the way) would be tested after existing-service steps, and before any ultra-express.

Lesson from SEPTA

SEPTA dropped its skip-stop pattern on the Market-Frankford Line in 2020, and peak service at former skip-stop stations improved from every 8 to every 4 minutes. For a growing line, frequent all-stop service plus a separate express is usually the safer pattern.

How long-term routes with multiple tracks get planned

  1. Step 1

    Shape the vision in public

    Share the plan and gather input; a formal corridor study starts once a sponsoring agency exists.

  2. Step 2

    Protect the land

    Official maps in each town on the route; railbanking only if an abandonment comes up; early purchase only through 5323(q).

  3. Step 3

    Get into the regional plan

    Ask the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study to add the project to its fiscally constrained long-range plan.

  4. Step 4

    Enter FTA Project Development

    Compare alternatives, choose a locally preferred alternative, adopt it into the long-range plan.

  5. Step 5

    Finish environmental review

    A categorical exclusion, an Environmental Assessment with a finding of no significant impact, or a full Environmental Impact Statement.

  6. Step 6

    Take the right funding path

    Small Starts is a likely fit for BRT (eligibility to confirm); New Starts or Core Capacity for later rail.

  7. Step 7

    Build in stages, reserve for the next

    Two tracks or two BRT lanes first; room kept for passing tracks, passing lanes and longer platforms.

  8. Step 8

    Measure, then upgrade

    Add express service and passing points when ridership and frequency justify them; re-check ridership before each step.

Track spacings below are state safety minimums for railroad workers, not passenger-rail design standards; the railroad that owns a shared line may require more, and curves need extra space.

  • Configuration
    Single track + passing sidings
    Track centers
    15 ft (4.57 m) at sidings
    Span between outer tracks
    15 ft at sidings only
    Right-of-way (illustrative)
    not sourced
    Service it allows
    Trains meet at sidings; mostly local, express only with carefully timed meets
  • Configuration
    Double track
    Track centers
    15 ft (4.57 m) minimum; 16.5 ft (5.03 m) for high-speed rail
    Span between outer tracks
    15 ft (4.57 m)
    Right-of-way (illustrative)
    ~50 ft usable in a ~100 ft corridor (one Bay Area example, to confirm)
    Service it allows
    One track each way, all-stop; express needs added passing tracks (e.g., Caltrain)
  • Configuration
    Triple track
    Track centers
    15 ft between each pair
    Span between outer tracks
    30 ft (9.14 m)
    Right-of-way (illustrative)
    not sourced
    Service it allows
    A middle track lets peak-direction expresses pass locals
  • Configuration
    Quad track
    Track centers
    15 ft between each pair
    Span between outer tracks
    45 ft (13.72 m)
    Right-of-way (illustrative)
    roughly 70–80 ft (arithmetic only, to confirm)
    Service it allows
    Two local + two express tracks: full express all day (e.g., New York's 1904 subway)

The bus version: passing lanes at stations

One lane each way is about 7.0 m between stations. Passing lanes at a center station take roughly 18 m before separators; staggered platforms save about 3.5 m but double the station's length (ITDP guide values, to confirm). Below about 20 buses an hour, station passing lanes may not be needed (a third-party reproduction of the BRT Standard scorecard; to confirm with ITDP). The Phase 1 Spine would run 6 an hour each way (about 12 where it shares Downtown–Farrington with the River Line).

Our judgment

Reserve the right-of-way for the most tracks or lanes a corridor might ever need, build two first, and add passing points at a few planned stations before any full extra track. Re-check ridership honestly before each step — Indiana's Double Track NWI had to change federal programs after ridership fell before it won its grant in 2021.

Trains both ways, stop spacing, vehicles and automation

Long-term ideas, text only. No rail line, track, tunnel or station is drawn or chosen, and no passenger trains run in Bethlehem today. Phase 1 is battery-electric buses with drivers.
Long-term ideaPhase 1 · buses with drivers

Mode by segment, not everywhere

Underground only where it pays, such as under South Mountain, dense blocks or a river crossing; at street level where streets or a reserved corridor allow; elevated where crossings or flood risk make it better. Studies would choose each segment. Stations would connect to existing trails, with bike and e-bike parking, and to any regional rail at shared stations. Stops at popular places only where riders and access justify them and the owner agrees.

Both ways

Double track, one track each way, is the usual default. Single track with passing loops is cheaper but fragile: on the valley light rail screening line it would allow a train each way about every 7.8 minutes at best, and about 10 or more in practice (estimate). In a tunnel, twin bores or one large bore is an engineering choice made project by project.

Express and ultra express

Inside Bethlehem a nonstop train would save only about 3.9 minutes on the valley light rail idea and 3.8 on the underground metro reference case (estimate), so the plan would not propose express tracks for Bethlehem alone. Express and ultra-express service across Pennsylvania, both ways, would be run by the agencies and railroads that build regional or intercity rail. Connect would connect riders at whichever station a regional study chooses, and never claims a route on someone else's tracks.

Third Street and Farrington Square

672 m apart on the street (471 m in a straight line; a 9-minute walk). That is fine for buses (Connect's minimum is 400 m) and within common tram stop spacing. For a metro, the model's tunnel chord (509 m) is just above the 449 m a train needs to reach top speed and brake, so a metro could keep both stops or merge them, a choice for later engineering. The University Center and Farrington Square are only 390 m apart in a straight line, with a 40 m climb; the metro reference case already merges them into one station.

A “hybrid electric train” would be battery-electric

It would run under overhead wires where they exist and on its battery where they don't, charging under the wires or at stations. Such trains run in regular service in Germany, and a Dallas streetcar crosses a historic viaduct on batteries, which matters for a wire-free historic core (leads). No train, vehicle or supplier is chosen. Hydrogen is not proposed for study now: German fleets reported fuel-cell faults and fuel-supply problems (leads).

Automation only where it is safe

Phase 1 buses would each have a professional driver; driverless buses are not proposed (pilots elsewhere kept a person on board, and several ended). A train on streets or on freight tracks would keep a driver, and on freight tracks the railroad decides when trains run. Driverless running only on a fully separated line, in a tunnel or on an elevated guideway, with a staffed control center, platform doors or intrusion detection, and staff on trains or at stations to help riders. Timetables would keep a fixed base frequency and change only from recent ridership counts (counts only, never tracking riders), with staff approving extra trips.

Phase 1 buses: chargers at both ends are required

In our screening, a Spine bus would cover about 396 km a day and need about 808–1,137 kWh, more than one depot charge. So the chargers proposed at both Spine terminals, the I-78 Park & Ride and Linden & Elizabeth, are required, not optional. Putting back one trip's energy would take about 3.7–6.9 minutes, against a 5-minute scheduled layover plus recovery time. Both terminal sites and their power are still to confirm.

If batteries or chargers aren't ready

The author's aim is natural energy only (21 October 2026), so this plan does not propose natural-gas or diesel-hybrid buses as a fallback. If batteries, chargers or winter range are not proven in time, the start would wait (our judgment from that aim). LANTA runs natural-gas (CNG) buses today, and their fuel supply was limited in extreme cold in January 2026 (LANTA's fuel emergency, a lead). The plan's energy and emissions figures describe battery-electric buses only.

Estimates: build/analysis express_screening.py, rail_checks.py and vehicle_staff.py, from the repo's kinematic and energy models (re-run 21 Oct 2026). Precedents are leads from web search summaries retrieved 19 Oct 2026, and the primary pages are still to be read: battery trains in Schleswig-Holstein and Ortenau (railwaygazette.com, stadlerrail.com, news.siemens.co.uk, electrive.com); the Dallas streetcar (metro-magazine.com, bisnow.com); German hydrogen fleets (h2-view.com, rollingstockworld.com); automated buses, including CAVForth (sustainable-bus.com, route-one.net) and Jacksonville's NAVI (jaxtoday.org, hoodline.com); automated metros (uitp.org); LANTA's January 2026 fuel emergency (lantabus.com, wfmz.com). Naming a railroad, agency or product describes it only: none has been asked or has agreed to anything. The trigger test for any express bus is in the plan's internal notes and has not been reviewed by LANTA.

Easy to reach by train — rail-ready siting

Bethlehem has no passenger train service today. If a regional train returns, its route and stations will be chosen by a regional study and the railroad that owns the tracks — not by this plan. What the plan can do is put the places it proposes where a train stop would be easy to reach.
Long-term · siting ruleProposal

3 proposed stops on the corridor

I-78 Park & Ride, Third Street / SteelStacks and Farrington Square sit on the rail-ready valley corridor, and so does Wind Creek, an evaluated destination on the Valley Express option. Room for a future platform would be reserved at these places.

7 places a short walk away

Including the National Museum of Industrial History, the SteelStacks campus, Bethlehem Commons' candidate sites, Lehigh's University Center and gyms, and the historic Union Station building — about 6–12 minutes on foot from a rail-ready stop.

Everything else: one Connect ride

Every other proposed station is within about 10 minutes on Bethlehem Connect of a rail-ready stop. The North expansion to Bethlehem Square, evaluated only if demand appears, is the exception at about 20 minutes.

The siting rule (proposal)

  1. Everything this plan proposes to build sits at a Bethlehem Connect stop, or within about a 10-minute walk of one.
  2. The biggest draws — SteelStacks and Third Street, the Dig & Discover gallery, Wind Creek and Farrington Square — cluster around the stops on the rail-ready corridor.
  3. Places on the hill connect by bus, not train. Mountaintop sits about 190 m above Farrington Square, too steep for a conventional train; the Spine reaches a rail-ready stop in about 9 minutes, and the gondola option would add a second way down.
  4. A future train stop would be added at an existing Connect station — sharing its platform area, shelter, bike parking, chargers and signs — not built as a separate building somewhere else.
  5. Keep the corridor clear: don't place new buildings on land the rail-ready corridor would need, and keep trails on former rail lines open.

Measured: proposed stations and evaluated destinations

Walking distances follow the Overture/OpenStreetMap pedestrian network at 80 m per minute (4.8 km/h), measured to proposed station points, not platforms. Ride times are Phase 1 estimates.

Measured: places people would visit

Same method. Existing places are shown for context; listing them implies no partnership.

  • Dig & Discover main gallery (street level at the Third Street / SteelStacks stop)Proposal

    Already there — under a 2-minute walk → Third St / SteelStacks

    On the rail-ready corridor
  • National Museum of Industrial History, 602 E. 2nd St (a natural partner to approach)Exists today

    ~6-minute walk (0.4 km) → Third St / SteelStacks

    Short walk to a rail-ready stop
  • SteelStacks campus — Visitor Center, 711 E. 1st St (event days)Exists today

    ~9-minute walk (0.7 km) → Third St / SteelStacks

    Short walk to a rail-ready stop
  • Geology pavilion idea at the Mountaintop / Iacocca Hall stop (proposal)ProposalNear the proposed Mountaintop Discovery Gardens, a separate garden idea, not sponsored or endorsed by Lehigh University

    ~9 min on Connect from Mountaintop / Iacocca Hall → Farrington Square

    One Connect ride to a rail-ready stop
  • Bethlehem Commons — candidate sites near SteelStacks (separate project; none secured)ProposalFarthest of four candidate sites shown; the range is 0.5–0.6 km

    ~8-minute walk (0.6 km) → Third St / SteelStacks

    Short walk to a rail-ready stop
  • Lehigh's Grace Hall and Taylor Gym (sports venues)Exists todayFarther of the two shown

    ~10-minute walk (0.8 km) → Third St / SteelStacks

    Short walk to a rail-ready stop
  • Goodman Campus fields (sports venues)Exists today

    ~9 min on Connect from Goodman / Stabler Arena → I-78 Park & Ride

    One Connect ride to a rail-ready stop
  • Yosko Park, Southside (city park)Exists today

    ~12-minute walk (1.0 km) → Third St / SteelStacks

    Short walk to a rail-ready stop
  • Historic Union Station building, Union Station Plaza — now a St. Luke's health center (Overture places data; to confirm)Exists todayMeasured for reference — not proposed as a station; no trains stop here today

    ~11-minute walk (0.9 km) → Farrington Square

    Short walk to a rail-ready stop
  • Lehigh Valley Hospital–Muhlenberg, 2545 Schoenersville RdExists todayNot on the Phase 1 core lines — the Airport Link option (a Phase 1 option, conditional target 2029) would stop on Schoenersville Rd at the hospital's middle driveway. The walk shown follows mapped walkways to the hospital's map point; open data has no paths across the campus, so it is much longer than the straight line, and the walk to an entrance is to confirm. A Muhlenberg branch from Moravian (~3.4 km on streets) is another idea to evaluate

    ~12 min on Connect from LVH–Muhlenberg (Airport Link stop option, Phase 1 option · conditional target 2029) → Farrington Square

    Longer trip (Phase 1 option only)
  • St. Luke's Anderson Campus, 1872 St. Luke's BlvdExists todayNot served by the plan — 7–9 km from the nearest proposed stop; long-term only

    Not served yet — nearest proposed stop is 7.5 km away → Farrington Square

    Not served by the plan yet

What this does not claim

No passenger trains run in Bethlehem today. The regional rail study has not picked a route or station locations, and every corridor it studied uses Norfolk Southern freight tracks, so any service would need the railroad's agreement, funding and approvals. “Rail-ready” here means only that space would be kept free.

Why this matters for the other projects

The same test is useful for the author's separate projects. Bethlehem Commons' candidate sites are a 7–8 minute walk from the proposed Third Street stop, and Mountaintop Discovery Gardens is one Connect ride from Farrington Square — so visitors could eventually arrive by train and transfer once, without a car. Each project still decides its own site.

Method: shortest walking path on the Overture Maps 2026-09-23.1 pedestrian network (including © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) from each place to the proposed station points; elevations from USGS 3DEP. The historic Union Station building is measured for reference only and is not proposed as a station. Rail study status: LVPC passenger rail study (2024) and Phase II, retrieved 18 Oct 2026.

Would a train be quicker than the bus?

On some trips a little, and only because of the route, not the rails: a bus on the same valley path at the same speed models as fast as the light rail idea. These are screening values in the vehicle, not timetables or promises, and no rail route has been chosen.
Phase 1 · busRail ideas · long-termLANTA · 2022 timetable

Minutes in the vehicle; waiting is extra. Phase 1 bus and gondola: the published Phase 1 network. Rail ideas: the earlier screening, with no frequency or station-access time; deep tunnel stations would add several minutes. LANTA: scheduled 2022 summer weekday trips, not current service.

  • Trip
    Hellertown → Downtown
    Phase 1 bus
    24.2
    Gondola option
    —
    Valley light rail idea
    15.8
    Tunnel ideas (C / D)
    7.9 / 8.2
    LANTA 2022 timetable (not current)
    21.0 min; about every 60 min (Route 105)
  • Trip
    Goodman → Downtown
    Phase 1 bus
    19.6
    Gondola option
    —
    Valley light rail idea
    18.8
    Tunnel ideas (C / D)
    5.4 / 6.2
    LANTA 2022 timetable (not current)
    No 2022 LANTA stop near Goodman or Mountaintop (Lehigh's shuttles serve the campuses)
  • Trip
    Mountaintop / Iacocca Hall → University Center
    Phase 1 bus
    6.2
    Gondola option
    6.0
    Valley light rail idea
    —
    Tunnel ideas (C / D)
    —
    LANTA 2022 timetable (not current)
    No 2022 LANTA stop near Goodman or Mountaintop (Lehigh's shuttles serve the campuses)
  • Trip
    Farrington Square → Third Street / SteelStacks
    Phase 1 bus
    1.6
    Gondola option
    —
    Valley light rail idea
    1.8
    Tunnel ideas (C / D)
    1.8 / 1.1
    LANTA 2022 timetable (not current)
    1.0 min; about every 9 min (Routes 100, 103, 605)
  • Trip
    Downtown → North Bethlehem
    Phase 1 bus
    5.7
    Gondola option
    —
    Valley light rail idea
    5.3
    Tunnel ideas (C / D)
    5.3 / 3.1
    LANTA 2022 timetable (not current)
    3.0 min; about every 60 min (Route 220)

The route, not the rails

The Spine takes about 24.2 minutes from Hellertown to Downtown because it climbs over South Mountain to serve the campuses. A bus on the flatter valley path models at about 17.1 minutes with two transfers, or 15.5 with the same speed the light rail idea is given there; the light rail idea is 15.8 minutes in one seat. In LANTA's 2022 timetable, the Hellertown bus took about 21.0 minutes but ran about once an hour.

Waiting matters most

If the plan's bus every 10 minutes were ever funded (it is not), the average wait would be about 5 minutes, against about 30 for an hourly bus. That would save riders more time than any change of vehicle.

What a train would not do

No rail idea serves Mountaintop or the University Center, and the tunnel ideas, the costliest, add minutes on stairs or elevators at deep stations. On short city trips, street-running rail would be no faster than the bus. A train would not cut campus buses by itself: Lehigh runs its own shuttles and would decide whether to fold any into a shared service. Lehigh has agreed to nothing, and the plan's records show no request to Lehigh about merging shuttles.

Method: build/analysis/trip_compare.py (21 Oct 2026). Phase 1 bus and gondola minutes from network.json; rail ideas from od_times.json (kinematic screening model). LANTA: its June–Sept 2022 GTFS feed (Wednesday 22 June 2022), direct or one-transfer trips between stops within 400 m of the same station points; LANTA has changed service since 2022. Average wait is taken as half the time between departures. The full table, with walking times, is in the plan's internal notes.

Connecting town to town, city to city, park to park

Schematic regional map of the Lehigh Valley showing Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton linked, smaller towns connected, ABE airport, and arrows toward Philadelphia, New York, Reading, Harrisburg and Scranton (opens the full-size image)
Links are schematic, not routes, and none is funded. Key: purple = the Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton link, where LANTA EBS buses ran in 2022 (schematic, not a route); teal dashed = town-to-town links: those toward Easton, Nazareth, Bath and Coopersburg overlap the Phase 2 corridor options measured on Corridors & Stops (conditional target 2030), and the rest are long-term ideas; magenta dotted = links to ABE airport: Bethlehem–ABE is the Airport Link, a Phase 1 option (conditional target 2029), and Allentown–ABE is a long-term idea; purple arrows = directions toward cities beyond the map; dashed box = the Phase 1 core lines only (Spine and River Line); Phase 1 options and extensions, such as the Airport Link, reach outside it. Each link would need its own sponsor, funding and approvals.Boundaries, roads and water: Overture Maps 2026-09-23.1 (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL).

Town to town, inside the Lehigh Valley

  • Pair
    Allentown ↔ Bethlehem
    Today
    LANTA EBS Green and Blue lines together run about every 15 minutes (since June 2023)
    Long-term idea
    River Line upgrade; Phase 2 Allentown corridor option (Downtown – Allentown Transportation Center), only if LANTA agrees; later, valley rail if justified
    Status today
    Operating (bus)
    Status of the idea
    ProposalPhase 2 · conditional target 2030
  • Pair
    Bethlehem ↔ Easton
    Today
    EBS Blue Line runs Easton–Allentown–Bethlehem–Trexlertown
    Long-term idea
    Phase 2 Easton corridor option (North Bethlehem – Easton Centre Square, on Easton Ave and William Penn Hwy), only if LANTA agrees; later an express tier; park link to Hugh Moore Park
    Status today
    Operating (bus)
    Status of the idea
    Phase 2 · conditional target 2030Long-term idea
  • Pair
    South Bethlehem ↔ Hellertown
    Today
    LANTA local bus; a ~1.2 mi trail gap between the South Bethlehem Greenway and the Saucon Rail Trail
    Long-term idea
    Connect Spine with a Hellertown trailhead stop
    Status today
    Operating (bus)
    Status of the idea
    Phase 1 · conditional target 2029
  • Pair
    Hellertown ↔ Coopersburg
    Today
    Saucon Rail Trail, about 7.5 mi
    Long-term idea
    Park link stop at the Hellertown trailhead; the Phase 2 corridor option via Saucon Valley south, on PA 309
    Status today
    Operating (trail)
    Status of the idea
    ProposalPhase 2 · conditional target 2030
  • Pair
    Bethlehem ↔ ABE airport
    Today
    LANTA serves ABE (current routes to confirm); intercity buses to Newark Airport leave from ABE
    Long-term idea
    First, better information on LANTA's and Trans-Bridge's existing ABE service; then the Airport Link bus option via LVH–Muhlenberg (7.99 km, ~13.5 min, model); later, an ultra-express Downtown ↔ ABE timed to existing intercity buses
    Status today
    Operating (bus)
    Status of the idea
    Phase 1 option · conditional target 2029Speculative vision

City to city

  • City
    New York City
    Today
    Intercity bus
    Status (as of October 2026)
    Rail studied (2024): ~2 h 20 min–2.5 h estimated. No route picked, no funding; the regional Phase II study was funded in December 2025 (lead); no result found as of 19 Oct 2026.
  • City
    Philadelphia
    Today
    Intercity buses; bus to Doylestown with a SEPTA rail transfer
    Status (as of October 2026)
    Rail studied (2024): ~1 h 46 min–1 h 52 min estimated; one of the Phase II study's candidates.
  • City
    Reading
    Today
    No direct rail
    Status (as of October 2026)
    Allentown–Reading studied (~46 min, 2024); no service or funding.
  • City
    Scranton / Wilkes-Barre
    Today
    No Lehigh Valley rail; the D&L Trail north is not yet continuous
    Status (as of October 2026)
    Scranton–New York rail plans bypass the Lehigh Valley.
  • City
    Harrisburg
    Today
    No rail from the Lehigh Valley
    Status (as of October 2026)
    Not among the corridors studied.

The 2024 regional rail study looked at five corridors, all on Norfolk Southern freight lines, with estimated capital of $450M–$739M and 10–12 years to complete. Bethlehem Connect keeps a rail-ready valley corridor as a hedge, not a commitment.

Park to park — the “Park Link” idea Proposal

Transit stops at trailheads plus seasonal weekend shuttles from Connect or EBS stops. Each park manager would have to agree; none has.

  • Park or trail
    Saucon Rail Trail
    Manager
    Saucon Rail Trail Oversight Commission
    Park Link idea
    Spine stop at the Hellertown trailhead
  • Park or trail
    South Bethlehem Greenway
    Manager
    City of Bethlehem
    Park Link idea
    Stops at Lehigh and the Southside; trail loop once the gap closes
  • Park or trail
    Saucon Park
    Manager
    City of Bethlehem
    Park Link idea
    Weekend stop on the Spine
  • Park or trail
    Monocacy Way
    Manager
    City of Bethlehem
    Park Link idea
    Moravian / Downtown stop
  • Park or trail
    Sand Island & D&L Trail
    Manager
    City of Bethlehem; D&L National Heritage Corridor
    Park Link idea
    River Line / Third St stop, paired with the proposed Bethlehem Commons
  • Park or trail
    Hugh Moore Park (Easton)
    Manager
    City of Easton
    Park Link idea
    Seasonal shuttle from the Valley Express or EBS Blue Line
  • Park or trail
    Lehigh Parkway (Allentown)
    Manager
    City of Allentown
    Park Link idea
    Seasonal shuttle from EBS
  • Park or trail
    Trexler Nature Preserve
    Manager
    Lehigh County
    Park Link idea
    Seasonal weekend shuttle
  • Park or trail
    Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center
    Manager
    PA DCNR
    Park Link idea
    Seasonal shuttle

Start with what exists, then grow

Reuse first

Phase 1 would start from what is already there: existing streets, with stops at or beside today's bus stops where there are any. Seven of the 10 station areas have LANTA trips within 400 m (2022 timetable data); Goodman and Mountaintop have Lehigh shuttles, and the I-78 Park & Ride site is to confirm. Buses would be kept and charged at an existing operator garage first (to confirm; LANTA has no garage in Bethlehem), and event and work days would use existing lots, parks and buildings, by arrangement with their owners. New builds would come later, only where something is missing and studies support it, such as a Bethlehem-side depot, the Bethlehem Hub idea or gondola terminals.

Beyond Bethlehem

If the related projects reach places beyond Bethlehem, Connect would serve them the same way: first a stop on an existing bus route, then a Connect branch only where no service exists and studies support it. The author's idea (20 October 2026) is that each place could have a stop, an e-bike station, a food and water point, restrooms and a recycling point, where the same stop-by-stop screening as in Bethlehem supports them: restrooms and bike share would need a funded operator. These are ideas, not commitments; none is planned in detail, funded or built. Connect plans to extend only with owners, regulators and licensed engineers, and no transit authority has agreed. No passenger rail route has been chosen.

Sources: LANTA EBS pages; LVPC passenger rail study (2024) and Phase II; D&L National Heritage Corridor; City of Bethlehem parks; Saucon Rail Trail; City of Easton; City of Allentown; Lehigh County; PA DCNR. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026. Precedents for park shuttles (LA Metro Transit to Parks, King County Trailhead Direct) are to confirm.

Airport & Seaport Modernization Program

A planning component of Bethlehem Connect, not a separate project. It starts from the airports and seaports that already exist, and it stays a planning component until a real operating partner and a clear scope exist.
Author's proposal · planning componentLong-term · study ideas

Honest status

There is no operating partner and no agreed scope. No airport, seaport, airline, TSA, transit agency or coach company has been asked about this program, and none is a partner or has agreed to anything. Nothing is funded or engineered. This website has no airport booking, forms or airport pages, and none is planned. No new airport or port site is proposed.

Existing facilities first

Improve and connect the airports, seaports, bus centers and services that already exist. A new facility is the last option, never the first.

Operators own their facilities

Airport authorities run their airports, port authorities and terminal operators run the ports, airlines handle checked bags, TSA runs airport screening, and port facility operators screen under plans the Coast Guard approves. Connect only studies and asks questions.

Security is never bypassed or weakened

Connect proposes no off-airport screening, bag drop, pre-clearance or priority lanes; those belong only to TSA, CBP, the airport authorities and airlines. “Faster” means only programs that TSA itself runs or authorizes, such as TSA PreCheck.

What Bethlehem Connect could study Long-term idea

  • Topic
    Transit and smoother transfers
    Study idea
    First, better information about the bus and coach service that already runs to each airport or seaport, then timetable questions for its operators. Any Connect bus option is studied only after that, and tested against existing routes first. No transfer is coordinated today.
    Who decides
    The transit agencies and coach operators; the airport authority for any stop at a terminal
  • Topic
    Passenger information
    Study idea
    Point riders to each operator's official pages. Connect builds no airport display, app, website or booking tool.
    Who decides
    Each airport or port operator, transit agency and carrier
  • Topic
    Baggage
    Study idea
    Connect cannot accept, carry or screen checked bags; only airlines and TSA can. A study idea for its own proposed buses: room for luggage that never takes wheelchair space.
    Who decides
    Airlines and TSA; a future operator for its vehicles
  • Topic
    Accessibility
    Study idea
    Ask how airport and seaport trips fit the local transit agency's paratransit area and how step-free the path from the bus stop to the terminal is. Observe only public areas, as an ordinary traveler.
    Who decides
    The transit agency; the airport or port authority
  • Topic
    Electric ground transportation and energy
    Study idea
    Energy and charging for any Connect bus serving an airport are not yet modeled. Any bus would charge at its operator's depot or at chargers Connect itself proposes, none of them on airport or port land. Chargers, solar and land at an airport or port belong to its owner, not to Connect.
    Who decides
    The bus operator; the airport or port authority for its own projects
  • Topic
    Freight connections
    Study idea
    Worker access to existing logistics jobs, measured from published timetables. Freight itself belongs to the airport and port authorities, the railroads and regional freight planners.
    Who decides
    The transit agency, regional planners, airport and port authorities, the railroads
  • Topic
    Security processing
    Study idea
    Information only: links to tsa.gov, TSA PreCheck and TSA Cares. A TSA-authorized provider could hold an enrollment event at an accessible venue, if the provider and the venue owner agree.
    Who decides
    TSA and its authorized enrollment providers; the venue owner; the airport authority for anything at an airport
  • Topic
    Seaports
    Study idea
    Existing seaports have their own owners, operators and expansion plans. Connect's role would be limited to information, published coach timetables and worker access.
    Who decides
    Each port authority, terminal operator and coach operator

Security stays with TSA and the airport authorities

TSA runs airport screening and its own programs, such as TSA PreCheck. Airport authorities run their terminals, and airlines handle checked bags. A Connect bus serving any airport would stay landside, and its riders would go through that airport's own checkpoint like everyone else.

A template for other places

The same method is written as a study template for any existing airport or seaport. Every step checks local rules and leaves security and regulatory review to the authorities in charge. It is a document, not a tool or a booking system.

The principles and study ideas are the author's proposal (our judgment). TSA PreCheck and TSA Cares: tsa.gov (a lead from web search summaries retrieved 19 Oct 2026; the primary pages are still to be read). Facts about individual airports and seaports are kept in the project's internal planning notes while the program has no operating partner and no agreed scope.

Sports & Entertainment District: event-day access

How people could reach large events, studied for a separate project with no location selected.
Long-term · access study

A separate project with no site

The Bethlehem Sports & Entertainment District is a separate, independent idea by David Fischbarg, at the research stage, with no location selected. Its status, as recorded in the interim project registry that Bethlehem Connect compiled (as of 19 Oct 2026): no site selected, no land secured, and no professional teams or leagues involved. Bethlehem Connect proposes no stadium site, subway or rail line. No venue, team, league or agency has been asked about this access study, and none has agreed to it.

Event services run by others

Existing today

  • LANTA's EBS Green Line to Wind Creek, and LANTA Route 105's Hellertown Park & Ride stop.

Past or seasonal event services (run by others)

  • Musikfest 2026 festival days only (ended): festival shuttles, including the Gold Line, operated by LANTA and announced with ArtsQuest, the Bethlehem Parking Authority, the City and the SouthSide Arts District.
  • Reported in Lehigh's 2020 football visitor guide; current practice to confirm: a game-day ADA shuttle loop from the accessible lot to Goodman Stadium.

Proposed for study Long-term idea

  • Event-day express buses from existing hubs, sized to real crowds, with a surge plan for sellouts.
  • Park-and-ride at existing lots, only where capacity is confirmed and the owner agrees. Connect's own I-78 Park & Ride (Phase 1, station 1) is proposed at a reported lot off Silvex Rd near I-78 Exit 67. Whether that is the existing Hellertown Park & Ride or a lot beside it, and its spaces and owner, are to confirm.
  • Accessible access: step-free routes, accessible boarding, an accessible drop-off and paratransit bay, and a shuttle loop where the walk is long.
  • Transit inputs for event traffic plans, which road owners, police and event operators lead.

The stop rule

Bethlehem Connect shows no station or stop for the district until the district has a verified location, its owner agrees and the stop has been studied. Until then, the reference for large events is Connect's proposed Goodman and Third Street stops and LANTA's existing service to Wind Creek. For now, a stop for the district is only a possible future stop.

Sources (leads, retrieved 19 Oct 2026): wfmz.com (Musikfest 2026 shuttle, 10 Jul 2026); lehighsports.com (football visitors guide, Nov 2020); lantabus.com (Route 105 timetable, 2026). The district's status: the interim project registry that Bethlehem Connect compiled (as of 19 Oct 2026); it is named here, with that status only, by the author's decision of 19 Oct 2026. Connect's I-78 Park & Ride: project amenity screening (18 Oct 2026).

Station comfort, restrooms and the wellness hub idea

Long-term ideas, text only. An underground station could exist only if a tunnel were ever built, and the plan rates a subway the least practical option for Bethlehem today. The wellness hub idea would be a hillside building beside a surface stop instead.
Long-term ideaWellness hub · long-term idea

Comfort at every underground station idea

Heating, cooling and fresh air, designed together with smoke control. How much heating or cooling is unknown: shallow stations may need winter heat as well as summer cooling. Step-free access with two elevators, bright lighting, help points, real-time information, a recycling and trash sorting point, a free bottle filler where water reaches, and bike and e-bike parking at the entrances. Recovering heat from a station and ground-source heat are study ideas, not promises.

Restrooms at a few stations

Staffed, cleaned and accessible, with posted hours, at a few stations chosen by written criteria: riders, transfers, the distance to the next restroom, and funded cleaning and staffing. Downtown first, then the Farrington Square / University Center area. Drivers would get their own restroom at every terminus. Not at every stop.

A wellness and sports hub Long-term idea

Public showers, saunas, locker rooms, a gym or sports space, and massage by licensed therapists through a licensed operator. Our suggestion: a hillside building set into the slope beside the Lehigh University Center stop. Built into the hill, it would keep steady temperatures and get daylight on its downhill side, and it needs no tunnel, so it would not wait for long-term rail. Three Connect lines meet nearby, in a part of town where no public gym was found (a lead), and it would defer to the City's own community center plans. An underground version only if a tunnel station is ever built; backup: Goodman. Never at Third Street (flood-exposed) or Downtown (a YMCA nearby already has a pool). Geology comes first (sinkhole-prone carbonate rock at the foot of the hill, possible radon in South Mountain's rock), and the slope is Lehigh or City land, so only if its owner offers a site. No site, size, cost or date, and nothing is promised free.

Mountaintop / Iacocca Hall: a finds museum

A shallow, earth-sheltered gallery beside the surface stop, never a mined cavern. It would show only what is actually found, such as rock cores from engineering borings, and it promises no finds. See also the Dig & Discover idea.

By place

  • Place
    Mountaintop / Iacocca Hall
    Underground station?
    No: a tunnel station would be about 196 m deep, so the stop stays at the surface
    Ideas there
    A finds museum beside the surface stop; the heated waiting room
  • Place
    Goodman
    Underground station?
    Only in the underground metro reference case
    Ideas there
    Backup site for the wellness and sports hub idea
  • Place
    Farrington Square / University Center
    Underground station?
    The shallowest possible near the campuses: at least about 8–11 m, or a station at a tunnel portal
    Ideas there
    Staffed restrooms; the wellness and sports hub idea, as a hillside building beside the University Center surface stop; a proposed e-bike station (a separate proposal)
  • Place
    Third Street / SteelStacks
    Underground station?
    No: it stays at street level because it is flood-exposed
    Ideas there
    Event-day facilities at street level; a proposed e-bike station (a separate proposal)
  • Place
    Downtown / Broad Street
    Underground station?
    Deep (at least about 26–30 m) in the historic core; a street-level hub comes first
    Ideas there
    Staffed restrooms; a food and water hub; a climate-controlled public room

What exists comes first

The City's proposed South Side Community Center, an early-stage City proposal, lists a gymnasium and locker rooms in its planning documents, so any hub idea would defer to it. The YMCA on East Broad Street and the City's seasonal pools already exist. None of them, and no landowner, has been asked about this idea.

Depths come from the plan's indicative screening of the tunnel ideas (summarized on Transportation Alternatives), not from designs. Other facts are leads from web search summaries retrieved 19 Oct 2026: South Bethlehem gyms and saunas and the YMCA (lehighvalleynews.com, thebrownandwhite.com, ymcarivercrossing.org); the South Side Community Center's gym and locker rooms (planningpa.org, its operator request for proposals); Pennsylvania rules for pools and massage therapists (pa.gov, law.cornell.edu, bethlehem-pa.gov); radon in the Reading Prong (aarst.org, en.wikipedia.org). Which fire and building codes would apply is for the code officials to decide.

Fares, posters and jobs

Author's proposals. LANTA's board decides fares and advertising on LANTA routes. LANTA has agreed to nothing, and the plan's records show no request to LANTA about fares or advertising.

Free to ride, as a goal Proposal

Riding Connect could be free for everyone, as a goal, only if a named, reliable funding source replaces the fares. Until then the proposal stays one fare across LANTA and the campus shuttles. Precedents run both ways: Alexandria and Richmond kept fare-free buses with city, state and other money, while Kansas City's buses went back to a $2 fare on 1 June 2026 when relief money ran out (leads). In Pennsylvania a city cannot raise recurring transit money on its own, so partner contracts, like Lehigh's per-trip payments to LANTA, and public budgets would come first.

No ads; student posters Proposal

No paid commercial ads on Connect vehicles and stations. Instead, rotating posters by local students about protecting our environment, next to service information, with written content rules, a fact check, a teacher's sign-off, a guardian's consent for every minor and a legal review first. No school has been asked or has agreed, and LANTA's own advertising policy governs its buses.

Jobs: dozens, not thousands

If it were funded, the Phase 1 core lines (the Spine and River Line) would need dozens of paid staff: at least about 34 full-time drivers, and roughly 55–80 people in all (a screening estimate from LANTA's staffing and a bottom-up count, of gross positions: some of this work is already done on today's EBS, which the River Line would upgrade, and on the campus shuttles; options and extensions not counted). Construction would add temporary jobs only if it were funded. Volunteers never fill a paid or safety role. In Phase 1, automation would take on scheduling and paperwork, never driving (every bus has a driver), maintenance or safety. See Work on the Line.

On board and at stations

Ideas: Wi-Fi, charging, screens with service information and student or community content, bike space, and pets welcome on a leash or in a carrier (service animals always), with rules to confirm with the operator. Climate-controlled rooms at major stations. Free reusable water bottles at launch events only if a sponsor pays, with bottle fillers to refill them.

Staffing: build/analysis/vehicle_staff.py (21 Oct 2026), from the operating model of the Phase 1 core lines; LANTA's headcounts and bus hours are leads (lantabus.com board packets; transit.dot.gov National Transit Database 2024). Fare and poster precedents are leads from web search summaries retrieved 19 Oct 2026: Alexandria DASH (dashbus.com, alxnow.com), Richmond GRTC (richmonder.org, wtvr.com, henricocitizen.org), Kansas City KCATA (kcur.org, ridekc.org, kxcv.org) and Maryland MTA's Earth Day youth art contest (mta.maryland.gov). Pennsylvania funding rules: penndot.gov and the plan's 2030 scenario. Nothing here offers rides, jobs, pay or items.

How Project OS could help coordinate construction and operations

In development — not yet liveProject OS is the project author's separate coordination software. A first version is in development and not yet live; it is not part of this plan's request.
  • Stage
    Planning
    How Project OS could help, once live
    Shared map layers, a dated document library, a decision log, stakeholder tasks and decision-gate tracking
  • Stage
    Construction
    How Project OS could help, once live
    Contractor schedules, inspections, approvals, budget vs. actuals, and event-day staging around SteelStacks and Goodman
  • Stage
    Maintenance
    How Project OS could help, once live
    An asset registry (platforms, chargers, solar, batteries, gondola components), work orders and inspections
  • Stage
    Station operations
    How Project OS could help, once live
    Cleaning and amenity rotas, community-space bookings and incident reports
  • Stage
    Community participation
    How Project OS could help, once live
    Feedback linked to map locations, response tracking and public progress pages
  • Stage
    Community work (planning phase)
    How Project OS could help, once live
    Roles open to anyone and trained roles, each with a quick guide, plus qualified crews of the responsible contractors; tasks posted where they are needed (see Work on the Line)
  • Stage
    League days (proposal)
    How Project OS could help, once live
    Read league schedules, help plan extra trips, and publish them in standard formats so any trip-planning app shows them

A back-end layer, not another app

Project OS would publish data in open standards rather than ask riders to install something new: GTFS schedules and real-time feeds, GTFS-Fares for any youth or league fare LANTA might create, wheelchair-accessibility fields, and GBFS for bike share. Regional agencies elsewhere increasingly partner with existing trip-planning apps instead of building their own.

Privacy rules (proposal)

Collect the minimum; never publish anyone's individual trips; treat minors' data as extra-sensitive with parental consent; delete raw data on schedule; no selling data or ad targeting; data-sharing agreements before any data flows. None exist yet.

This website does not connect to Project OS. It would link only after the platform is live and has passed privacy, security and accessibility review. The roles and quick guides Connect would use are on Work on the Line.

One philosophy, separate projects

Guiding idea

Make essential things simpler, more accessible, less wasteful, and affordable or free wherever practical.

“Free where practical” is honest, not a loophole: something is free only when a reliable funding source pays for it.

Bethlehem Connect

This transit plan.
Planning phase · shared for discussion

Lehigh Leagues

A student-run recreational sports initiative. Transit could add league-day trips, youth passes and venue links — all proposals that need partners.
Separate project · student-run; not an official Lehigh University program

Bethlehem Commons

A phased recreation campus idea near SteelStacks, starting with an outdoor street-hockey rink, about a 7–8 minute walk from the proposed Third Street stop.
Separate project · no site secured · to coordinate with the City's planned South Side Community Center

Mountaintop Discovery Gardens

A garden idea for Lehigh's Mountaintop Campus. It includes no transit; a Connect stop nearby could make it easy to reach.
Separate project · student-initiated; not sponsored or endorsed by Lehigh University

Dig & Discover museum

“What we find, if we find it” — see Proposed Community Stations.
Proposal

Project OS

Coordination software that could carry any project's open data — but no project depends on it.
Separate project · in development, not yet live

Aethon

An ocean exploration technology company started by the same author. Its website says it has software and data today and owns no ships, vehicles or satellites. Aethon has not funded, set up or agreed to anything with Connect.
Separate project · software and data today

Each project has its own owner, partners, budget, approvals and timeline, and moves forward on its own. Projects share methods, never private data, and any data link between them would need its own agreement first. They connect only where it helps both sides.

Reuse it anywhere

Author's proposalThe method, not this route.

Connect's corridor method is a reusable transit kit: existing streets first, stops spaced at least 400 m apart (our judgment), a road-class rule so routes keep to main roads, and existing depots and garages before anything new is built. Another town, campus, region or country could copy the method, the templates and the checklists below. Local agencies, owners and engineers would decide everything there. The plan's summaries, visuals and PDFs are on Documents & Sources.

The transit kit

Existing streets first. Stops at least 400 m apart (our judgment). A road-class rule that makes main roads win over residential cut-throughs (used for the Airport Link and the Phase 2 corridors). Existing depots, garages and lots before anything new.

Station kit and accessibility rules

Near-level boarding, a detectable warning edge, seating at least every 60 m, audio and visual arrivals, and redundant elevators wherever there is a level change. Dimensions are preliminary assumptions, not engineering specifications.

Status labels

Nine labels, from “Existing today” to “Speculative vision” and “Author’s proposal”, each defined in one line, so an idea never reads as a plan.

Rail-ready siting rule

Put everything at a stop or within about a 10-minute walk, and keep land a future rail line would need clear. Walks are measured on open walking-network data at 80 m per minute.

Phases with decision gates

Five steps (Step 0–4), paced by seven decision gates: a public sponsor agrees to study; the travel need is documented; alternatives are screened with the community; operating funding is committed in writing; federal project development and environmental review; engineering; and delivery. Upgrades such as express service or extra tracks wait until ridership is re-checked.

Open data standards

GTFS schedules, GTFS-Realtime updates at least every 30 seconds, and wheelchair-access fields for each stop and trip, readable by existing trip-planning apps.

Honesty rules

Dates stay conditional, renderings say “illustration only”, sources carry retrieval dates, and naming an organization never implies agreement. Nothing is called free without a reliable payer.

A “what must be true” checklist

Bethlehem 2030’s eight conditions, such as a sponsor adopting the route and operating money being committed. Another place would fill in its own agencies and dates.

Stays local, checked in each place

  • Land, its owners and permission to use it
  • Permits, laws and local codes, including accessibility law
  • Climate: winter, heat, flood and wind
  • Language, currency and units
  • Engineering: surveys, borings, utilities and costs
  • Environmental and historic review
  • Community participation and public decisions
  • A public sponsor and operating funding
  • Local ridership and travel data

How a copy starts

  • Place details live in data and settings files. One file sets the region for the measurement scripts (build/analysis/region.json). The station points and lines are the plan itself, in named scripts (anchors.py and the tables in network.py), so a new place writes its own. Some figure scripts still keep their own map windows.
  • Templates and checklists carry no contact details or private data, and no people's names except the author's credit.
  • A copy starts at “idea”, with every approval “not requested”.

Beyond Bethlehem: an aim, not a plan

The same method could repeat in other Pennsylvania towns, across the US (for example the Midwest) and worldwide. This is an aim, not a plan or a promise: nothing is chosen or funded, and no place outside Bethlehem has been approached.

Honest status

As of October 2026, nothing here has been adopted or funded, in Bethlehem or anywhere else, and no city, university or community outside Bethlehem has been approached.