\u201cAs the center of commerce and development, this intersection so very much deserves this facelift.”<\/p>\n
State Rep. Pete Schweyer<\/p>\n
Flanked by ceremonial shovels and ongoing construction at the former Merchants National Bank building, the mayor highlighted the Center Square project\u2019s place in a series of downtown investments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s \u2026 always a construction project,\u201d Tuerk said, dubbing Allentown \u201cGroundbreaking City, USA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Center Square\u2019s reconfiguration \u201caccomplishes a lot,\u201d including improving pedestrian safety and adding green space to downtown, Miller said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot going on at this intersection,\u201d he said, crediting his colleagues for getting the project off \u201clife support\u201d several years ago.<\/p>\n
\u2018The focal point\u2019<\/p>\n
The area around Seventh and Hamilton streets \u201cis not just an intersection,\u201d state Rep. Pete Schweyer said, calling it \u201cthe focal point\u201d for many residents and visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the center of commerce and development, this intersection so very much deserves this facelift,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"AllentownCenterSquare1.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/allentowncentersquare1.jpg\")
This rendering by Omnes Landscape Architecture shows the planned plaza around the Soldiers and Sailors monument in downtown Allentown. Courtesy<\/p>\n
Plans call for two of the area\u2019s four plazas to be extended to improve pedestrian safety and create more public space.<\/p>\n
The plaza at the southeast corner of the intersection, near Lehigh County Government Center, will be stretched to include the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, while the northeast plaza will be expanded.<\/p>\n
That is set to eliminate several traffic lanes. After the project is completed, vehicles on Hamilton Street will no longer split around the monument; all eastbound traffic will be directed to the left of the statue, plans show.<\/p>\n
The project also is set to cover the left-turn lane from Seventh Street to Hamilton Street with a pedestrian plaza.<\/p>\n
A bike lane is planned for the side of two traffic lanes on Seventh Street.<\/p>\n
The first phase of construction \u2014 at the northwest corner of the intersection, near PPL Center \u2014 is set to wrap up this week.<\/p>\n
Four additional phases are planned through the summer, with the sixth and final phase set to end in early November, according to the city\u2019s timelines.<\/p>\n
\u2018Make it safer\u2019<\/p>\n
Speaking after the ceremony, Tuerk told LehighValleyNews.com he expects the new layout will \u201ctake a little bit of adjustment\u201d for everyone using the plazas and roads.<\/p>\n
Drivers may feel a little \u201cpinch\u201d near the monument, with fewer lanes on the road, \u201cbut sometimes that pinch will slow people down,\u201d Tuerk said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can slow it down, we\u2019ll make it safer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allentown City Council Vice President Cynthia Mota issued a statement Monday morning after a child was hit by a vehicle about a block from Center Square over the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne moment can change a life forever. No family should go through something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cynthia Mota, Allentown City Council vice president<\/p>\n
Mota, who participated in the groundbreaking ceremony, said she was officiating a downtown wedding Saturday night when \u201cthe accident happened in front of the bride and many of the wedding guests.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was heartbreaking and deeply emotional for everyone there,\u201d she said. She urged drivers to slow down and \u201cpay attention\u201d and asked pedestrians \u201cto stay alert.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne moment can change a life forever,\u201d Mota said. \u201cNo family should go through something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 More than 200 years after its inception, Allentown\u2019s Center Square is close to realizing its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-262818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262818","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=262818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}