Shapiro touts Main Streets during Bedford visit

BEDFORD, Pa. – Gov. Josh Shapiro stood amid the Americana setting of Bedford Borough’s town square – with its brick sidewalks, quaint shops, historic monuments, vibrant greenery and farmers market – extolling the important roles Main Streets play as the “lifebloods of our communities” Wednesday afternoon.

He then announced almost $7 million in Keystone Communities Program funding that will support 49 improvement projects designed to bolster downtown districts in 25 counties.

Three organizations in Bedford County received money:

• Downtown Bedford, Inc. – $50,000 for a street audio/emergency notification system in downtown Bedford Borough.

• Bedford County Development Association– $25,000 to complete a countywide workforce housing impact study.

• Center of Community Action – $10,942 to update the Everett Borough community revitalization strategic plan.

Grants will also go to four entities for projects in Cambria County:

• Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation – $500,000 for the Pitt-Johnstown Future Works planned for downtown Johnstown.

• East Conemaugh Borough – $50,000 for Main and Greeve streets demolitions.

• Ebensburg Borough – $50,000 for facade improvement.

• City of Johnstown – $50,000 for facade program.

“It’s communities like this, it’s Main Streets like this that we not only want to celebrate, we want to invest in because we believe Main Streets matter,” Shapiro, a Democrat, said during the Bedford stop on his weeklong The Great American Getaway RV tour to promote Pennsylvania tourism.

Shapiro also provided details about his new $25 million Main Streets Matter proposal for the state’s 2024-25 budget.

The initiative came about after the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development received 117 applications, requesting more than $24 million, for Keystone Communities funding. If enacted, Shapiro said Main Streets Matter could be funded by using dollars from the commonwealth’s approximately $14 billion surplus.

“I want to be really clear, this isn’t the state coming in and telling you what you need to do,” Shapiro said. “Instead, it’s folks who are on the ground here – the mayor and other leaders here – who understand what needs to be done from streetscape, to safety, to investing in facades, you name it. We want to be there to make critical investments with them.”

DCED Secretary Rick Siger called the Main Streets Matter proposal “a program that will build upon our success while adding scale and flexibility to the modern needs of our region.”

State Sen. Patrick Stefano, a Republican whose district includes Bedford, offered his support, saying, “I believe in economic development of hub and spoke. Your downtowns are the hub. That is your economic development. And then the spokes can spiral off out of that into the other areas of your community.

“So it’s critical that the state invests in these downtowns. And I love the program, so much that I agree with the funding because the funding comes out of Harrisburg, comes into your downtown to a committee of local people who know how best to develop their own agendas and their own community. That is what is so critical. You know your future and your direction.”