The Bethlehem Parking Authority has announced the launch of new pickup/delivery parking spaces. The 10-minute-maximum spaces require no payment and are designed to provide another convenient solution for customers quickly picking up or delivering items to and from local businesses.

Last year, the BPA piloted several of these spaces in the Historic and Southside Arts districts. “The new short-term pickup zones are perfect for customers that are quickly picking up a beverage or pastry item and for some of our team members that rely on others for transportation,” said Bitty and Beau’s Coffee owner Colleen Dorsey.

The City of Bethlehem and the BPA worked strategically to identify spaces in dense business areas that would benefit the most from this program. Executive Director Steven Fernstrom said, “These spaces will help relieve congestion by offering another safe and proper parking option.”

Announced in January, Automotus, an automated curb management solutions company, selected Bethlehem to receive up to $100,000 in support to launch a Smart Loading Zone Pilot program. The pilot project, separate from the pickup/delivery spaces, aims to improve short-term parking efficiency, relieve congestion, reduce parking tickets, and make the streets safer by applying automated progressive payments and data management in existing loading zones.

Fernstrom said, “The 10-minute pickup/delivery spaces will complement the Smart Loading Zone program pilot and help to offer additional options to free up the smart loading zones for other uses, including larger, more robust deliveries.” Signage installation will begin this month. The Smart Loading Zone pilot will begin sometime in the next few months.

Check the BPA’s website and Instagram for more information.

Contributed article