JT board member wants Front St. change

Jim Thorpe’s mayor fought back Thursday against two persistent proposals by one of the town’s residents.

Gerry Strubinger, who sits on the Jim Thorpe School Board, again asked for the borough to change Front Street back to a two-way traffic pattern, and for consideration of a bypass to circumvent the downtown area.

When the new Route 903 bridge was installed, Jim Thorpe changed the traffic pattern to make Front Street one way from North Street to Center Street.

“Let’s go back to two ways,” Strubinger said at last week’s council meeting.

“I don’t see any reason not to do it. It’s ridiculous to send tractor-trailers up to Second Street to make a left on North Street and then come back down across the bridge.”

Borough Mayor Michael Sofranko said the decision was made based on sight lines.

“The sight line coming across Front Street is not enough to see the crest coming over North Street, which would result in numerous accidents,” he said. “The traffic had to be diverted for the safety of not only pedestrians, but those who are driving there. If you stand where the stop sign would be, you can’t see a car coming down North Street.”

Though there have been close calls, Sofranko added, there have been no accidents since Front Street was made one way.

On the second issue, Strubinger promoted a bypass around downtown Jim Thorpe.

“I think I’ll go to my grave before this happens, but we need to use the Lehigh Valley rail bed for a bypass,” Strubinger said. “Go all the way down from the Glen to at least Bowmanstown. A nice two-way highway would be wonderful. You have to be forward thinking with things like that.”

Routing vehicles out of the downtown, and away from the majority of borough businesses, didn’t sit well with the mayor.

“I can’t believe as a school board member, you come here and ask me to put a bypass around your business community,” Sofranko said.

“As a mayor, that upsets me. I appreciate everyone who goes through Jim Thorpe and maybe sees a shop, or a bank, or a bike shop, or something to stop and support it. If you ask how a bypass affects a community, go talk to Lehighton. I stand for every business in Jim Thorpe on that.”