Hamilton Boulevard in Lower Macungie, PA, overlaid with an artist’s rendering of proposed changed. Image by Kairos Design Group for Lower Macungie Township.
Creating a better, stronger Lower Macungie Township is about more than just a job for Commissioner Ron Beitler. It’s about his roots and hometown pride, it’s about his future and the future of his family. For Beitler, a vibrant Lower Macungie is deeply personal.
Beitler, a member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, is a lifelong resident of Lower Macungie, PA, a third-ring suburb of Allentown located on the western end of the Lehigh Valley. Beitler and his wife live in a house less than three blocks away from the house he grew up in, where his parents still live. In fact, most of Beitler’s family members live in Lower Macungie.
When Beitler’s father bought their family home, the population of the rural township was around 6,000 residents. Now, a much more suburban community, the population is up to over 31,000 residents with projections of growth reaching over 40,000 in the next 10-20 years. That population growth — 40 percent over the last 25 years — has led to many of the same challenges seen in other suburban communities that grew in a sprawling pattern. For Lower Macungie this includes traffic, increased taxes, and flooding. “In many ways, we are just now feeling the pain associated with 20 years of sprawling growth,” says Beitler. “In terms of our quality of life, but also the township’s long term finances.”