ANIZDA OKs $830k to redo sidewalks near spiral deck
With the Da Vinci Science Center soon opening its new downtown Allentown location where it is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, sprucing up the sidewalks around the parking deck at Eighth and Linden streets has become a priority for the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Development Authority Board.
The board voted unanimously Wednesday to allocate $830,000 to do just that. Center City Investment Corp. will design, plan and construct new sidewalks on both sides of the 800 block of Linden and the west side of Eighth Street to the Da Vinci site along Hamilton Street. The project is scheduled to be completed in June 2025.
Lin Erickson, executive director and CEO of Da Vinci Science Center, said it is important to create a good first impression for people coming to visit the downtown, and an aesthetically pleasing walkway will help do that.
Vicky Kistler, Allentown’s director of community and economic development, presented the project to the ANIZDA board. A season ticket holder for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who play at the adjacent PPL Center, she said she worries about pedestrian safety for those coming from the spiral deck.
“The sidewalks are important,” she said. “They don’t lend themselves well to pedestrian traffic. They actually present tripping and fall hazards.”
Kistler added that many who venture downtown for events know the spiral deck as a familiar landmark.
“It’s where very many people know to park,” she said.
ANIZDA board Chair Seymour Traub said excess NIZ tax revenues are being put to good use with this project.
“I think it’s very important to get the streetscape improvements done,” Traub said. “The downtown looks great. Da Vinci is going to add a tremendous amount of additional traffic downtown. I think the Archer Music Hall is going to be adding a great deal of additional traffic. The whole downtown has become an organic Center City and part of it is the fact that we are improving in this way so it looks good.”
Da Vinci announced last week that its new location at PPL Pavilion in downtown Allentown will open May 22.