{"id":111137,"date":"2026-02-11T14:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/111137\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T14:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:58:08","slug":"coalition-for-appropriate-transportation-opens-new-office-on-north-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/111137\/","title":{"rendered":"Coalition for Appropriate Transportation opens new office on North Side"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Coalition for Appropriate Transportation opened its new office in the Walnut Street Garage at 33 W Walnut St., on Jan. 24<\/a> following an opening celebration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Lehigh Valley News,<\/a> the new acquisition nearly doubles the nonprofit\u2019s office space, making it the first tenant in the renovated Walnut Street Garage\u2019s retail spaces. The expansion gives the organization room to provide and expand its services.<\/p>\n

Scott Slingerland, the director of the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, said he\u2019s excited about the\u00a0 new office space because its location gives the coalition broader access to the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n

The Coalition for Appropriate Transportation offers assistance to anyone who commutes by walking, biking or taking public transportation. Individuals can visit the office to receive help finding practical transportation options and participate in the organization\u2019s programs aimed at supporting the community, including its bike-to-work program and youth bike education program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see (the youth program) as like driver\u2019s training, starting at the age of 5,\u201d Slingerland said. \u201cIf they start to understand the basics, they\u2019ll have a better time and more success.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Slingerland said one aspect of improving alternative transportation in the Lehigh Valley is behavior. He said drivers maintaining reasonable speeds, pedestrians and cyclists staying\u00a0 aware of their surroundings, and everyone obeying traffic laws can make a difference. Programs such as the organization\u2019s youth bike education help foster that environment.<\/p>\n

William Audelo, the captain of Bethlehem Police Department\u2019s support services, said the department works closely with the organization to field complaints and suggestions in an effort to create a safer Bethlehem for all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a community, we have to build a culture where we are putting pedestrians and cyclists in the frame of mind,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The department\u2019s support services, which include the traffic unit, work with several organizations, including the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, municipal\u00a0 governments and The Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, to improve Bethlehem streets for pedestrians, cyclists and others using alternative modes of transport.<\/p>\n

Audelo said the department contributes statistics and enforcement data and attends meetings such as the Citizen\u2019s Traffic Advisory Commission, where residents can voice concerns and suggestions.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The Coalition for Appropriate Transportation) organization is a big part of that,\u201d Audelo said. \u201cWe work hand in hand, fielding complaints and suggestions, and then working towards promoting a safer Bethlehem for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Slingerland said another key aspect of the coalition\u2019s mission is improving the built environment across the Lehigh Valley. That includes marked crosswalks, wider multimodal sidewalks, bike-friendly routes through trail connectivity, low-speed streets and public transportation that\u2019s efficient in routing, service and frequency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

AJ Knee, the director of planning and scheduling for LANTA Bus Services, said increasing frequency is one of the agency\u2019s current goals, though the spread of urban centers across the Lehigh Valley presents challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we would need to do is fill in those gaps to make a continuous urban area where possible,\u201d Knee said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Knee said land ordinances play a major role in determining what can be built and where, and LANTA frequently works with municipalities and counties to promote transit-supportive land use and a built environment that accommodates bus service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a government-funded agency, Knee also said LANTA relies on organizations such as the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation to conduct outreach and advocacy work the agency can\u2019t do itself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c(The Coalition for Appropriate Transportation) doesn\u2019t have the money for projects, but we have hopefully good ideas.\u201d Slingerland said. \u201cWhenever we see a problem area, we\u2019ll go to a municipality and try to get improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Coalition for Appropriate Transportation works with bus services such as LANTA and municipal departments in Bethlehem to make the city more accessible for alternative transportation. In collaboration with other agencies, the organization is advocating for multimodal sidewalks on the renovated Hill-to-Hill Bridge project, expanding connections along the Bethlehem Greenway to areas such as Hellertown, and working with municipalities on initiatives including Bethlehem\u2019s Complete Streets plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to Lehigh Valley News,<\/a> the coalition has also become a community hub, with more than\u00a0 250 active members in 2025 and more than 1,400 youth participants in its events.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Slingerland said with its new space in the Walnut Street Garage, the coalition will continue advocating for more sustainable and accessible transportation options throughout the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to show people that you could find a route more directly, and you don\u2019t have to take a car,\u201d Slingerland said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Coalition for Appropriate Transportation opened its new office in the Walnut Street Garage at 33 W Walnut…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[3946,153,155,154,1197,139,2155],"class_list":{"0":"post-111137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-4-min-read","9":"tag-bethlehem","10":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","11":"tag-bethlehem-news","12":"tag-feature","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-transportation"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}