The Brown & White

Gas may have come down from its high of more then $4 a gallon, but that hasn't brought down resident enthusiasm for a light rail system in the valley.

Lehigh Valley residents and policymakers of the Lehigh Valley gathered for "Pints and Policy Night" Tuesday at Bethlehem Brew Works to discuss the pros and cons of the railroad.

Bob Freeman, a Pennyslvania state representative, said that now is the time for the Lehigh Valley to bring back a mass transit system which amonth other things would cut back on energy use.

"The Lehigh Valley used to have many light railway trolleys that connected boroughs and towns and heavy rail passenger service trains which connected us to major metropolitan areas such as New York and Philadelphia. We can and need to have that restored," he said.

Some Lehigh students said they could benefit from a light rail.

"I know I would benefit from a mass transit system if it were to connect to Philadelphia," said Daniel Molina, '08. "I could travel by train straight into the valley instead of taking the bus, which is what I now do."

Some think the system is a good way to conserve energy.

"I personally don't think I would benefit from a light railway system but I am all for instituting pro-green transportation systems for people that can use it," Ben Rautenberg, '10, said.

But finding such a project could be difficult, said Bethlehem attorney Bruce Davis. Also problems are potentially low ridership and the many legal "leaps and hurdles" one would have to go through make the proposal highly unrealistic, he said.

Davis used New Jersey Transit's proposed 88-mile single-rail passenger service from Scranton to Hoboken, New Jersey as an example of how costly light railway system would be.

"NJ Transit's system is a $551 million project that is projected to only serve 3,350 eastbound riders a day. There are just not enough people who would use it to make up for the cost," said Davis.

Pints and Policy Night is sponsoreded by Lehigh Valley Community Public Radio 88.1 WDIY.