I'm in at least one Allentown park every day. Recently, I visited a dog park in another community a couple of times. I can tell you that Allentown has an existing dog community in most of its parks. Owners and their dogs visit each other every day in Lehigh Parkway, Cedar Park, Trexler Park and other spots in Allentown.
There would be nothing wrong with establishing a separate dog park near Dixon Street, if the existing parks were maintained, but that's not the case. Every existing park has issues of neglect and deferred maintenance.
We have a mayor desparate to cut another ribbon, hoping it will garner him a few more votes come November. We have a park director who is apparently more interested in adding new bullet points to her resumé, than preserving our iconic park system.
Despite the reservations expressed here, the new dog park is under construction. If you visit with your four legged friend, remember that the double stairway at Lehigh Parkway is falling apart, along with most of the other park structures which once made our city famous.
picture postcard, circa 1950, of Allentown's iconic Lehigh Parkway, with the WPA Double Stairway
Ed has been promising this to dog owning voters for at least ten years. When the election is on the line he finally does it. That is the sole motivation behind this new park.
ReplyDeleteAfter the election, I think it would be an excellent idea for Allentown City Council to mandate that all elected and appointed city officials be born within the confines of Lehigh County. More and more people are being appointed to positions of high responsibility that are basically job-hoppers and see Allentown as a stepping-stone as part of their career in the public sector.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that Max and Fi-Fi will have new trees to water as well as fertilize.
Some of us had family members that worked on building these iconic structures and are saddened by the lack of maintenance of them. That is what you get when the temporary occupant of Allentown's 5th floor is not from Allentown and doesn't care about the history of Allentown or any of its historical structures. He is only interested in new ones that he can attach his name to, even if he had absolutely nothing to do with it. City Council needs to halt any new park construction in the next budget until the existing parks are brought to a proper level of maintenance.
ReplyDeleteAllentown cannot enforce the rules concerning dogs in the parks that exist. How are they going to enforce the dog park. Neighboring communities with dog parks limit the use to their residents. Will Allentown?
pathfinder@2:19, city council has been a rubber stamp for pawlowski's park agenda since day one, including all current members. I appealed to them several times on several issues to no avail.
ReplyDeleteThe dog park and the skate park are two promises that Pawlowski has duped supporters with. The money will never be available if he keeps selling the City to donors, the City will spend it on contracts that are given as favors to "friends".
ReplyDeleteWhat is stopping Pawlowski from spending this money of park structure repairs? Good Lord, look at our public pools. He can't get those open, how can he maintain the parks? We can't seem to afford the deals they made.
City taxpayers should not pay for playgrounds for dogs....unless dog owners pay a 'registration fee' like car owners. Yeah, yeah....I'm a grump about those little s_ _ t machines.
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