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Lorne Possinger recalls visiting South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the 1990s and waiting 45 minutes at a railroad crossing, as freight trains passed through on their way to and from Bethlehem Steel.
Today, cyclists and pedestrians use the same crossing as they commute, shop, exercise or appreciate works of nature and art � or all of the above.
Recreation and culture have become catalysts for community in this former company town, as infrastructure is modified to meet the needs of current residents. Now known as the South Bethlehem Greenway, most of the rail bed is a multi-use trail that connects people with each other, as well as art installations, stores, restaurants and parks.
Using a Highlands Conservation Act grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the City of Bethlehem purchased a key section of track to complete the trail and extend new opportunities to the community.
The ups and downs of a company town
In the latter half of the 19th century, South Bethlehem attracted people from countries like Hungary, Ukraine, Slovokia, Italy and Poland who hoped for a fresh start built on the need for skilled labor in the steel industry. Tight-knit communities formed around the city’s many churches, one or more for each ethnic group.
Bethlehem Steel � “the Steel� to locals � flourished for much of the 20th century, boosted by government contracts. Though dust and soot from the factory hung over South Bethlehem, residents who depended upon the company’s good-paying jobs reportedly told themselves, “Smoke in the air means food in the bellies.�
As the first wave of laborers moved up at the Steel, they were replaced by Puerto Rican-Americans, mostly from New York City, who sought the stability the company offered. Then, in the 1970s, as less-expensive, imported steel challenged American-made, Bethlehem Steel laid off workers, eventually closing in 1995.
South Bethlehem suffered in the aftermath, but the greenway has breathed new life into the community.
Reviving South Bethlehem
Darlene Heller was a planner with the City of Bethlehem for 25 years, retiring in 2025.
“When I started, Bethlehem Steel was just closing down; the rail line was abandoned, and a swath of it was overgrown and blighted,� Heller said.
The greenway changed that. The city bought the first section of rail line, about 2.5 miles, from Norfolk Southern Railway in 2008. At the time, the company chose to lease the last 0.9-mile stretch to industrial concerns, rather than sell.
The trail passes through historical South Bethlehem, with access to Lehigh University and the former Bethlehem Steel campus, now a commercial and cultural center in the shadow of the preserved blast furnaces � called SteelStacks � that includes the National Museum of Industrial History and Wind Creek Casino.
In addition to being a transportation corridor in an area where few own cars, the greenway serves as a venue for arts and culture, attracting people to trailside exhibitions and events. Shops and restaurants have sprouted along the route. Seniors on foot, babies in strollers, kids on scooters and commuters on bicycles co-mingle.
"Being able to take what was a nuisance � an abandoned rail line that ran through the middle of this area � and purchase it and turn it into this greenway ... it's been transformational,� said Laura Collins, Bethlehem native and director of community and economic development for the city. “We do a lot of programming now on the greenway with local arts organizations or performance art organizations.�
Minding the gap
Popular as it is, the South Bethlehem Greenway has remained incomplete, thanks to the nearly one-mile section still owned by Norfolk Southern.
Filling the gap to connect South Bethlehem with other communities has been a priority for all involved. Possinger, advisor and manager for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Eastern Region for the last 22 years, never forgot the experience of waiting for the trains to pass. In his role overseeing grants to municipalities, he’s been a proponent of the South Bethlehem Greenway for most of his career.
The rail section was included on a list the state published in 2020 of the top 10 trail gaps: sections that would connect existing trails and require major infrastructure, a large amount of funding and interagency coordination.
In 2023, the city received a $2.7-million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to purchase the connecting segment. The Pennsylvania DCNR put forward $500,000, and Northampton County offered a $300,000 Livable Landscape Grant in 2024.
That left an $800,000 funding gap.
During the Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference in April 2024, Heller led a walking tour of the former Bethlehem Steel property. Possinger joined her group, along with Jay Rasku, Highlands Conservation Act lead for the Service, and Dan Pierce, Highlands program specialist at DCNR. By the end of the tour, the four had a plan for securing the remaining funds for the greenway gap.
A first for the Highlands Act
Congress passed the Highlands Conservation Act in 2004, creating the program that conserves water, forest, wildlife, agriculture, recreation and cultural resources across the 3.4-million-acre Highlands region of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Grants totaling $52 million � and matched by $79 million in nonfederal funds � have protected more than 19,000 acres of land.
Originally, property purchased with Highlands funds had to be owned by a state agency. In its 2022 reauthorization of the act, however, Congress allowed counties and municipalities to hold land. That was key for the South Bethlehem Greenway.
“This was our first Highlands transaction with a city under the new rule,� Pierce said. “Without the hard work of all involved to reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act and expand these grant opportunities to counties and municipalities, this project may not have happened.�
In fact, it’s the first piece of land transferred to a non-state entity in any of the four states and a prime example of the value the legislative change brings to communities.
“Before I was aware of this project, I attended a conference in Bethlehem and stayed in a hotel right on the greenway,� Rasku said. “I went for a run on the trail, and it was beautiful; I ran through a park and saw some great art along the way. Knowing we could support the city by adding to it was gratifying.�
Expanding horizons
The new acquisition will extend the existing trail south to Hellertown, where it will link to the 7.5-mile Saucon Trail that leads to Coopersburg.
“We plan to acquire future pieces to connect the Saucon Trail with the Perkiomen Trail,� Possinger said. “Eventually, you’ll be able to ride from Bethlehem all the way to Philly.�
Planned expansion of the trail network north of Bethlehem will someday connect Wilkes-Barre with the City of Brotherly Love.
Saucon Park � a popular destination with a pool, ballfields and recently renovated playground equipment and picnic pavilions � is two blocks from the greenway’s new endpoint.
“The new trail connection will take people even farther out of the city, where they might experience even more nature and recreation opportunities,� Collins said.
Connecting near and far
Life in South Bethlehem has long been rooted in shared experience, and the South Bethlehem Greenway has united the community in a similar fashion.
“I've been in the city a long time, and it feels like there's always some kind of a controversy with a project. But the greenway's not like that; everybody loves it,� Heller said. “It’s really heartwarming to see how the community has cherished this area, and completing the trail opens up so many possibilities.�
The Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program has created opportunity for greater connection with each other and the larger world.
