Aug 9, 2013

The Fountain Of My Youth

Just west of the Robin Hood Bridge is a fountain which quenched the thirst of my summer days. Built during the WPA era, it overlooked the creek. Although the water was turned off years ago, so now is the view. The weeds and assorted invasives growing are not a riparian buffer. Science says that a buffer has to be 25feet wide to be of any value. A reader described this thin strip of wild growth as neglect, masquerading as conservation. All it does is block both the view and access to the waterway. It denies our current citizens the beauty and experience for which the parks were designed. Although the Wildland's Conservancy would like you to believe that the Allentown Parks are there to be wildlands, in reality they were designed by landscape architects, to provide the citizens of Allentown with what Harry Trexler called serenity. He did also appreciate conservation, but for that he created the Trexler Game Preserve, north of Allentown. There are places in the parks which can accommodate the riparian buffer zones, without compromising the intended public experience of waterway view and access. Riparians could be created and maintained in the western side of Lehigh Parkway, between the pedestrian bridge and Bogerts Bridge. In Cedar Park, the riparian section could be in western side, between the last walking bridge and Cedar Crest Blvd. It's time that the parks were given back to the citizens of Allentown. They are not funded, or intended by our tax dollars and the Trexler Trust,  just to be a venue for the Wildland's Conservancy to harvest grants.  Let a child again giggle by the creek's edge. Let us get back our intended park experience.

7 comments:

  1. I went by Jordan park yesterday. Very disappointing that they have removed the walls on the other side of the river and making that side inaccessible to us. It was always upsetting to see the neglect on that side, falling trees and debris. I wondered if they will allow these buffers to creep throughout the entire edge of the river. The buffers of neglect are also being allowed to grow from the 7 St bridge by Home Depot and even at the small park on Mickley Rd and Mallard Dr in Whitehall. It seems the intent is to deny us access to the rivers.

    -Steven Ramos

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  2. Is it possible that some of the staff that manages the golf course could take over the care of the parks?

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  3. I go to the park for a beautiful view. If I want to see nature I watch Animal Planet.

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  4. Mike,Very well written and says it all.

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  5. Speaking of fountains,are any of the drinking fountains that graced our parks and streets still in existence and if so are they functional? Or do they sit dormant as a reminder of how things used to be? Like police on horseback in a packed Lehigh Parkway or the iron bridge in LP or Super Sunday or waterless swimming pools!But hey ain't we got hockey!!!!!

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  6. @9:34, although i maintain that the arena itself will be a white elephant, i must concede that i was intrigued this week with news that an air products division will relocate to hamilton street.

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  7. Wouldn't it be interesting if Volvo moved its Mack division HQ back to Allentown

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