On Sunday morning, Ed Pawlowski put a sketch of the proposed renovated Cedar Beach Pool on his facebook page. It's actually very nice, I have no issue with the plan. I do, however, have a issue with the misinformation dispensed by him and his administration, about the parks and other aspects of the city. You can no longer see the scene pictured above. The beautiful little Robin Hood Dam in Lehigh Parkway was demolished by the Wildlands Conservancy, and the vantage point from which this photograph was taken, has been closed since the WPA wall collapsed. Neither of these losses was necessary. I unsuccessfully tried to save the WPA dam, and likewise, unsuccessfully, lobbied for repairs to the wall. Some of my efforts concerning our iconic park system are chronicled on a separate facebook page, WPA-Lehigh Valley Save Our Structures. Pawlowski deleted a comment and link to that page, that I put on his posting. However, the proof is in the barriers, which block off Lehigh Parkway to thousands of citizens. The city gladly accepted misinformation from the Wildlands, and also dispensed misinformation and excuses concerning the wall. Pawlowski now states that Cedar Beach pool is closed because of a sink hole under the pool. When it was closed earlier this summer, the city then claimed a leak in the filter system. Now, rather than repair it as previously stated, we learn that a whole new plan for the pool was actually in the works.
Although the FBI is annoyed at Pawlowski's style of hiding things from the public, that generally doesn't bother me too much. The voters have the corruption, and corresponding rubber stamps that they endorsed, election after election. However, when it comes to the iconic park system, I become agitated. This unique park system was a legacy meant to be passed on to future generations. To me, it's importance is way beyond Pawlowski's pay-grade.
photocredit: molovinsky
They don't even mow the grass correctly in Allentowns parks. In the hot summer they mow WAY TOO LOW for a healthy lawn.
ReplyDeleteThey're goofballs.
Our parks department is in charge of street trees, although the owner is responsible for maintaining them. The street trees are inspected by the parks department. As your drive our city streets you will find many trees that are failing and large dead branches that hang over the streets and sidewalks ready for strong winds to cause damage or injury. Why aren't they taken care of? This is not something that happens overnight.
ReplyDeleteLet's be brutally honest here --- Telling blatant lies about anything & everything as well as spending ridiculous amounts of money on minor league ice hockey rinks are about the only two things this one-party town is good at.
ReplyDeleteBut, hey, so long as everybody "feels" good, right?
Yes, focus-grouped and poll-tested.
The trail of which you write in the parkway, near where the wall collapsed, was closed for a week or so, but happily, it has been opened for the last month or so to pedestrians, runners and cyclists.
ReplyDeleteThe stairway near the crumbled wall, connecting the main entrance roadway (from Fifteenth Street) to the path, is still closed and the main entrance remains closed to motor vehicles but opened to pedestrians and cyclists. The space near the spree field (the crumbled wall pieces) is fenced in, to prevent anything from rolling onto the path. I would rather see the wall repaired but in the meantime I appreciate the work the park crew has done to keep a popular pathway open.
@6:01, the park is essentially closed, unless you live within walking distance. although i have not entered the park since the week after the disaster (by way of queen city), i do drive by the barricaded main entrance almost every day. furthermore, a city employee tells me now how little the park is now being used. keep in mind that i spoke to two park directors and one city engineer for three years about the wall, before it collapsed. money was budgeted twice for it's repair. it's a crime that this administration allowed that to happen.
ReplyDeleteThe Park is not essentially closed. There are a ton of users and 6 other entrances or parking lots. It's a shame about the WPA wall, i hope it gets fixed.
ReplyDelete@10:00, i'm very familiar with the park, and you're being an apologist. there is very little parking at the entrance by the regency. there is no vehicle access to the robin hood section from the bogert bridge entrance off 24th street. the queen city entrance is very obscure. that's three entrances, not six. don't confuse a dedicated runner or cyclist who goes to the park without a car, with the majority of users, who drove in on the main entrance. usage is a tiny fraction of what it was.
ReplyDeletei recommended that the fallen section of wall be rebuilt as was the union terrace retaining wall. a standard cement wall, then faced with the original wpa stone.
your i hope it gets fixed makes me nervous, i hope that the pawlowski administration is not considering abandoning the entrance. but your nonsense about 6 other entrances makes me nervous.
Usage is down. I've noticed a difference since the main entrance has closed. But I drive to the parkway to run, and park near but not in the fish hatchery parking lot. By my count, there are five entrances: fish hatchery, fly fishing lot, the canoe/kayak lot off 24th street, the small lot off MLK Blvd and the twisty, windy entrance from Queen City Airport, of Vultee Street.
ReplyDelete@7:05, as a devoted runner, you're making do. for an elderly couple, or many people less physical, the parkway meant parking by the robin hood bridge lot, the area shown in my photograph. that is the iconic parkway, and hence the main entrance. i.e. even for the crass Lights In The Parkway
ReplyDeleteThe bigger crime is that I see absolutely no urgency to rebuild the fallen section of the wall or work on the parts that are still standing. Not even an attempt to reclaim the fallen stones from the hillside, as near as I can tell.
ReplyDeleteWinter isn't all that far away.
Without quick action more damage will surely occur.
Please don't put words in my mouth or think you know me. It's a damn crime this wall, and other structures in the Park have not been preserved. No apologies to find here. But the Park is not closed, and as someone who uses it on a bike at least 3 times a week, there are no less users than i've been seeing for years.
ReplyDeleteI also use it enough to know all the entrances and parking lots.
There is Overlook Rd Parking lot( small, agreed) , both Robin Hood Bridge and Iron Bridge accessible from Lehigh Parkway S. ( not presently convenient, agreed) , the Park Dr. Lot accessible from 24th St. , The Covered Bridge lot on 24th St. ( packed, always ), there are 4 seperate lots on Fish Hatchery Rd and 2 remote lots on Keystone Dr.
Thanks for your reporting, as always.
@3:14, you might one of those spandexers, with a helmet. perhaps your park experience hasn't changed that much, but for the less active and passive of us, the park has been greatly diminished. furthermore, the amount of people visiting the park, has been drastically reduced, period.
ReplyDeleteAgain, so quick to draw conclusions or insult someone who actully reads your blog and shares some common views.
ReplyDeleteThanks anyway.
@3:46, i produce this blog to fill in an ever increasing void in the local truth available to people interested in things beyond A-Treat. when the main known entrance to allentown's second oldest park is closed, and a city employee who is there often, every day, tells me that attendance is a fraction of that before the collapse, i must question your conclusions. perhaps you pass the same dedicated riders every morning, but that is not the bigger story by any means.
ReplyDeleteLets talk about the iron bridge!That was the beginning of the of laziness and lack of maintenance.And now it spread like a virus.Facebook are you kidding me shouldn't he be packing?
ReplyDeleteI am grateful for your reporting. Cycling is one of several ways I exercise, sometimes in spandex and sometimes in looser workout clothes. Perhaps you don't mean it this way, but when you describe people by the clothes or the safety gear they wear, it comes across as derision. A shame because your larger points may have merit. I don't think you would like it if others wrote derisively of the way you dress yourself. With that in mind, would you be willing to eschew sartorial judgements and simply refer to cyclists as cyclists?
ReplyDelete@7:28, since you find some elements of this blog worthwhile, and because you're anonymous and not directly insulted, perhaps it would be easier for you to occasionally tolerate what you consider a derisive statement by me. it takes some commitment to produce a blog five days a week, for eight years. if i had to worry about who i may offend with each post, it wouldn't be the same thing.
ReplyDelete@7:28, it would be best if you read today's post, which may better explain the history of this particular "derision"
ReplyDelete