The Sunday ride took us past SportsFest at Cedar Beach. Although the event is very successful this year, it's been a rough summer on the park. Mayfair, Stellar and Sportsfest turn the grass into a virtual parking lot. The Rose and Old Fashion Gardens looked well tended, but with less flower beds and variety. The return of the paddle boats indicate no will to remove the land bridge, which helps stagnate Muhlenberg Lake. Although some homage has been paid to environmental concerns by allowing the stream banks to grow al naturale, recreation is now clearly king.
Jul 19, 2011
The Sunday Drive by Cedar Beach
The Sunday ride took us past SportsFest at Cedar Beach. Although the event is very successful this year, it's been a rough summer on the park. Mayfair, Stellar and Sportsfest turn the grass into a virtual parking lot. The Rose and Old Fashion Gardens looked well tended, but with less flower beds and variety. The return of the paddle boats indicate no will to remove the land bridge, which helps stagnate Muhlenberg Lake. Although some homage has been paid to environmental concerns by allowing the stream banks to grow al naturale, recreation is now clearly king.
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MM -
ReplyDeleteI also stopped in for Sportsfest and was shocked that people were allowed to park among the grove of (cherry?) trees south of the pool lot.
Was this the practice in prior years? I don't remember the grass in that area looking so damaged.
i had never noticed such parking before, there appeared to be no restrictions.
ReplyDeleteget the parking authority on the job....time to regulate park parking
ReplyDeleteparking was allowed on the grass by permission of the park department. auxiliary police were on duty
ReplyDeleteOdd - I noticed the horrible condition of the grass yesterday as I was driving by.
ReplyDeleteIt should deteriorate further this week with the excessive heat forecasted.
My concern though is the difficulty driving down Hamilton St. near the park.
Event attendees seem to simply saunter across Hamilton St haphazardly.
Given the canopy of trees and the distortion of light affecting vision throughout the day, this is a tragedy in the making.
Especially if someone has had a little too much too drink at one of the local watering holes.
Chumscrubber
(To the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies)
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time there was a man named mike,
poor west-ender there was nuttin’ he did like.
And then one day he was lost in the fog
and up from his pen came a truculent blog.
Well the next thing you know ole Mike’s in bed,
pissing and moaning with his blog being read.
He fights the mayor
the school super too
and guess what happens?
His fame did grew
Molovinsky that is, ----the Allentown whiz
Mike, with so many bad things happening in Allentown, I was very happy at how successful SportsFest was. Athletes from all over the area participated, attendance was free (so everyone could enjoy it, unlike Mayfair), great crowds, and no stories that I saw of crime/bad behavior.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your thoughts on the impact to the park, but if Allentown is ever going to turn around it'll be events like this that help.
The Banker
banker, i agree with sportsfest being positive for the city. the post only notes the increased recreational use of cedar beach park and some consequences, but it doesn't outright criticize it.
ReplyDeleteMM & Banker -
ReplyDeleteLet me add one more item about Sportsfest. I happened to drive by Union Terrace on Saturday or Sunday evening, where (I believe) some soccer or flag football matches had been played as part of Sportsfest. The field was left strewn with litter.
I don't know if this was an isolated occurence at one venue or a recurring theme at other locations as well. Either way it wasn't pretty and didn't reflect well on Sportsfest. The Cedar Beach location did seem more prepared to the litter problem, with numerous trash receptacles available.
I wish Sportsfest continued success, but I think they could improve in the area of litter control. I also don't think the long-term damage to the park is worth the short-term convenience of parking cars in the tree grove. Perhaps there is an alternative (such as remote lots and shuttles) that can be found to eliminate that problem in the future.
More pavement.
ReplyDeleteThe grass would, then, be no problem.
I am happy to help.
THE BULLDOZER
Parks used for recreation?
ReplyDeletedirty, the park is being overused. amusement venues are also called parks (dorney park), but that was not the intent for cedar beach park. a study by a national firm commissioned by the trexler trust in 2005, reached the same conclusion.
ReplyDeleteI'm 45 years old. I spent nearly everyday of every summer from 7th to 12th grade riding my bike from my parents house on the 500 block on N. 15th st. to swim in that pool .that park has alway been recreational to me. To the kids i grew up with. I thank General Trexler regularly for those memories.i'm in 100% agreement though that, if the city is going to have events like that, they need to find an alternative source of parking. Cars on the grass is bull--.
ReplyDelete