The pond at Trexler Park may be a thing of the past. Supposedly, the dam gate was breached over the weekend. I examined it in the last several months, and it appeared in good enough condition to me. Last year, when the second, lower pond next to it developed a sinkhole, it was never restored.
Understand that the Wildlands Conservancy doesn't like dams and ponds, and that the Conservancy dictates policy, for both Allentown and South Whitehall Park Systems. If anybody doubts that reality, just visit Cedar Park by the Rose Garden and try to find the creek. The Conservancy has a riparian buffer hiding the creek from both view and access. The weed wall buffer provides no ecological benefit, because the storm water system is piped directly into the creek, bypassing the buffers anyway. Never the less, this is the Wildlands' policy. In South Whitehall, the Conservancy has installed a son of one of their officers as Park Director. In Allentown, the Park Director does as she is told.
Those who appreciate the iconic park system gifted upon Allentown by both General Harry Trexler and the WPA, can only learn about the degradation of the park system here at this blog. The local paper, The Morning Call, has refused to publish my protests against the Wildlands Conservancy, and the consequences of their influence on our park systems.
Although, the Trexler Trust should insist that the dam gate be replaced (it's only a few pieces of lumber stacked in a rack) they probably also have a working relationship with the Wildlands Conservancy. Trexler Park was the private estate of Harry and Mary Trexler. The now empty pond was always the heart of the park.
I'm certainly not a professional when it comes to construction, but I'm pretty handy and have most of the tools and gadgets you could ever need for basic construction.
ReplyDeleteWhy couldn't we just get a few guys in hip waders together on a Saturday morning and go fix the dam gate?
Seriously, I'm more than willing...
jeffrey@8:41, the park department could do that themselves in 20 minutes, if they so desired. the report that instead they're going to have an engineer study the situation, gives me fear for the pond's future. unfortunately, this is a policy issue, not a construction problem.
ReplyDeleteI get it, but, if a few guys just showed up early one morning and did it, would anybody be breaking any laws?
ReplyDeleteBecause then, the city could "study" the situation as long as they want, and families with children could enjoy the pond as much as I did when my Mom took me there to feed the ducks as a kid.
jeffery@9:18, when i organized the excavation of the Boat Landing the police showed up. i suspect that we were not arrested because several women were also working on the site with us.
ReplyDeleteWFMZ reported on the dam being breached. ( if that is what really happen?)
I reported on the politics of the park system.
If you decide to go ahead and repair the gate, you're correct that there would be many grateful children
I doubt I could do it all by myself, but if two or three other guys want to give it a try with me, I'll definitely do it...
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think happened to the fish in the pond? On Tuesday, there was a small amt of water in the back section where all the ducks and birds were hanging out in and there appeared to be the oxygen ripples of fish. I'm thinking many died but I didn't see any and there were many in that small section of water remaining. I haven't been back since. Such a devastating event. We owe our wildlife so much more. Harry Trexler would not be happy. Shame on this seeming slow response. A sad world with such disregard for life and our environment, seems to be our norm.
ReplyDelete