Bath Council Short & Long-Range Planning (2026 to 2029)
On April 9, 2025, Borough Council conducted its short- and long-range planning public meeting. Council determined the following projects to be of greatest importance over the next five years:
Short-Term (1 to 2 years)
Video Cameras at Signalized Intersections: The Public Safety Committee has been tasked with planning and developing this project. The committee will engage PennDOT for potential permitting requirements; understanding where data points will be needed; logistics of recording footage; determine number of cameras to be installed, among other concepts. The committee will report progress and provide decision packages for Council’s consideration at a future meeting.
Parking Lots: The Community & Economic Development Committee has been tasked with planning and developing an inventory of identified Borough owned properties for potential use or expanded opportunities for parking. The committee will work to engage private property owners, such as businesses with parking lots for potential shared-use parking agreements. The committee will evaluate parking potential along Allen Street, the downtown corridor, and a potential streetscape project along Broad Street. The committee will also evaluate parking meters. The committee will report progress and provide decision packages for Council’s consideration at a future meeting.
Trail System: The Parks & Recreation Committee has been tasked with planning and developing a priority list for the Borough’s inter-park trail system. The committee will use the Master Park & Recreation Comprehensive Plan as a guide. Ciff Cowling Field will be the first priority for development of a trail system while awaiting the Nor-Bath Trail, which is expected to terminate along Mill Street in front of the Bath Water Authority. The committee will report progress and provide decision packages for Council’s consideration at a future meeting.
Alley’s “One-Way” Traffic Patterns: The Public Safety Committee has been tasked with evaluating alleyways of the Borough (streets with less than a cartway width) to determine if one-way traffic patterns should be enacted. The committee will evaluate Rohr and Barber Streets, especially around the St. John’s parking lot. The committee will speak with residents along alleyways to gain insights on one-way patterns. The committee will report progress and provide decision packages for Council’s consideration at a future meeting.
Long-Term (2 to 3+ years)
Safety Crosswalks: The Public Safety Committee has been tasked with developing an inventory of potential streetscape projects. The committee will engage PennDOT for any new potential streetscape projects and where some crosswalk projects could simply be repainted. The committee will organize and prioritize crosswalk painting projects based on public danger level. The committee may also evaluate the placement of illuminating crosswalk signage and provide an inventory of intersections within the Borough that may need new crosswalks. The committee will report progress and provide decision packages for Council’s consideration at a future meeting.
Street Lighting: The Public Safety Committee has been tasked with developing and providing Council a plan to execute the installation of new streetlights/adding streetlights to the current inventory. The committee may consult with the Borough Engineer’s Office to provide lighting calculations, especially along main thoroughfares of the Borough (main routes/state roads) to determine where additional streetlighting may be needed. The committee will evaluate motion activated lighting at Borough parks. Finally, the committee will evaluate light ambiance based on location. For example, evaluating whether additional acorn style lamp posts are needed in downtown area of the Borough that has recently received National Historic District status. The committee will report progress and provide decision packages for Council’s consideration at a future meeting.
Capital Improvement Fund: The Borough Manager’s Office and Personnel, Finance, Administration Committee has been tasked with expanding the Capital Improvement Fund. The manager and committee will evaluate ways to improve funding; evaluate funding techniques through the budget or tax increase; determine a funding floor (not to drop below $100,000); consider fund balance transfers; evaluate Liquid Fuels transfers, and finally, potentially designating a minimum of $25,000 from annual General Fund budgets toward the Capital Improvement Fund.
Current Community Projects
- Ciff Cowling Band Stage.
- Ongoing Street Reconstruction.
- Old Forge Streetlight Replacement Project.
- Municipal Building Backup Generator.
- Trailhead Improvements and Park Redevelopment at Ciff Cowling Field.
- America 250th Anniversary Celebration.
- Monocacy Creek Pedestrian Bridge Refurbishment Project.
- Adoption of Official Borough Map
- Adoption of the Official Borough Zoning & Overlay District Map
- State Route 248 Re-alignment Project
Bath Council Short & Long-Range Planning (2022 to 2027)
Pennsylvania law requires the re-organization of Borough Council at the start of each even-numbered year (every two years). With the conclusion of the 2021 election cycle, seeing the departure of three councilpersons, this meant Borough Council was starting fresh at the beginning of 2022 with new faces and ideas.
As has been customary with Bath’s Council, the bi-annual reorganization meeting opens a timeframe for elected leaders to discuss with its constituents where Bath has been, and where it should go. The meetings help create Bath’s short and long range plans. Priorities Borough Council will begin working on; leveraging what worked in the past to tackle future problems.
The following broad concepts were discussed by Borough Council at their February 9, 2022 planning meeting to begin developing its short and long range plans. The concepts were entitled as follows; Current Threats, Negative Trends, Positive Trends, Opportunities, and Borough Assets.
CURRENT THREATS
Warehousing Development | Lack of Fire Department Volunteerism | Costs associated with MS4 Infrastructure | Increase in occurrence of Natural Disasters | Borough’s Lack of Development– Landlocked | Major Infrastructure Improvements | Truck Traffic | Lack of Parking | Lack of Control over Regional Development | Lack of an Official Map
NEGATIVE TRENDS
Increase of Traffic Congestion | Succession Planning | Lack of Affordable Housing | Financial Support and Rising Costs | Lack of Public Participation | Limited Retail | Lack of a Parks & Recreation Plan & Re-Development | Community & Police Relations | Technological Pace | Lack of Public Transportation | Lack of Inter-County Bike/Walking Trail Connectivity | Public Communications | Relationship with Bath Water Authority | Condition of Borough Road Inventory
POSITIVE TRENDS
Rich Cultural History | Increase of Public/Community Events | Intergovernmental Cooperation | Adoption and Rollout of the Rental Inspection & Licensing Program | Pennsylvania State Police
OPPORTUNITIES
Lehigh Valley Greater Area Chamber of Commerce | Additional Intergovernmental Cooperatives | Review/Amend Zoning Laws | Increase Code Enforcement Activities | PennDOT Investments | Implementation of the Borough’s Short & Long Range Transportation Improvement Plan | Daily Travelers/Access to Local Highways | Increase Branding/Borough Attractiveness | Creating Mixed-Use and/or Business Friendly Zones | Broadening Governmental/Community Communications | Number of Local Churches | Local Food Bank | Bath’s Regionally Centralized Geographical Location | Borough Council Committees
ASSETS
Monocacy Creek/Natural Resources | Open Spaces/Parks/Log Cabin | Historic District & Architecture | New Borough Municipal Building | Number of Small Businesses | Schools | Churches | Bath Volunteer Fire Department/Bethlehem Township EMS | Community Organizations and Local Non-Profits | Borough Employees/Mayor/Council/Committees
2022 Short & Long Range Planning (Conceptual)
From the discussion of the concepts, the following objectives have been identified by Council to be completed over the next few years. This list is not meant to be all-inclusive or to be specifically carried out in order of arrangement.
Year 1 to 2 Plan (Through 2023)
Roll-Out of Rental Inspection and Registry Program | Road & Infrastructure Improvements | Official Borough Map | Increasing Parking & Code Enforcement | Improving Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Infrastructure | Funding Improvements for Bath Volunteer Fire Department
Years 2 to 5 Plan (Through 2027)
Capital Improvement Fund Planning | Debt Servicing/Reduction | Reserve Funding | Maintaining Financial Relevancy | Parks & Recreation Re-development Opportunities | Public Works Investments – Road Improvements/Traffic Signalization Upgrades/Traffic Pattern Alternatives | Monitoring Policing Efforts
Current Community Projects
- Council set to adopt the 2022 Nazareth Area Council of Governments Comprehensive Plan (public hearing scheduled for June 6, 2022, beginning at 6:00 PM. COMPLETE
- Road base and surface repairs: Double Bituminous Seal Coating Project across the borough. COMPLETE
- Major Playground Improvement Project near Paw Park. COMPLETE
- Creation of Official Borough Map. IN PROGRESS
- Bath Traffic Signal Optimization Upgrades (PennDOT sponsored and funded). COMPLETE
- State Route 248 Realignment Project (PennDOT sponsored and funded). IN PROGRESS
- Street Lighting LED Conversion Upgrades. COMPLETE
- Completion of Borough’s NPDES Permit. COMPLETE
- Zoning Amendments. IN PROGRESS
