3rd Avenue Update
Kuss Brothers will be busy today on the lower stretch of 3rd Avenue between Union Blvd and the Route 378 entrance. Depending on how people exit Route 378, this could be one of their first views of Bethlehem. You know what they say about first impressions!
Going left off the ramp toward Broad Street will be worked on in the Spring as part of the PennDot Hometown Streets Project.
In talking with the tree crew, they can do about 13-15 trees a day so they should be able to cover the lower part of 3rd Avenue and hopefully start on 5th Avenue tomorrow.
Did you know that more trees correlates with…
- Lower crime. The presence of trees in urban neighborhoods has been linked to reduced crime.
- Cleaner air. Trees provide the oxygen we breathe. One acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe each day and eliminates as much carbon dioxide from the air as is produced from driving a car 26,000 miles. Tree leaves help trap and remove tiny particles of soot and dust which otherwise damages human lungs and tree root networks filter contaminants in soils producing clean water. Forty trees will remove 80 pounds of air pollutants annually. So our planting of roughly 240 trees (easy math) = 480 pounts of air pollution removed every year.
- Energy savings. Trees lower the temperature through shade. The cooling effects of trees can save millions of energy dollars. 3-4 shade trees located strategically around a house can cut summer cooling costs by 30-50%.
- More public revenue. Studies have shown that trees enhance community economic stability by attracting businesses and tourists. People linger and shop longer along tree-lined streets.
- Higher property values. Property values of homes with trees in the landscape are 5 - 20% higher than equivalent properties without trees.
- More efficient stormwater management. One tree reduces 4000 gallons of storm water runoff annually.