The City of Allentown is receiving more than $600,000 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) for street and park projects.

The city will receive $250,000 for Center City Street Lights and ADA Ramp Installation and $250,000 for Phase II of an American Parkway Light Project. It will also receive $103,500 for master plan design and an environmental assessment to extend Auburn Cross Trails to Lehigh Parkway.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced the grants yesterday. They are part of 227 approvals in support of community revitalization, transportation improvement and environmental protection.

Money for the street projects comes from the Multimodal Transportation Fund. Funds for the trail project come from the Greenways, Trails and Recreation program.

“I am grateful to the administration and to our representatives in the legislature for shepherding these projects through the process,” said Mayor Ed Pawlowski. “These projects improve the quality of life for our residents and can move more rapidly from the drawing board to reality with monetary support from the state.”

Center City Street lights is a total $2.1 million project in the Upside Allentown neighborhood to repave, reconstruct or replace non-compliant sidewalk ramps and improve lighting by erecting lamp poles and assembling light fixtures, trenching cables and conduits and replacing street trees.

The $1.07 million American Parkway project will light the 11,000 foot long section from Gordon Street to Airport Road.

The trail project will create a one mile paved multi-use trail linking the city and regional trail networks at a total cost of nearly $200,000.

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