Allentown is embarrassed about the Gateway appearance entering downtown Hamilton Street from the west. Allentown has a lot to be embarrassed about, but the condition of the sidewalk is the least of its problems. People are concerned about the lack of people on Hamilton Street, and more so, the character of the ones that are there!
Our city leaders and planners are taking about a new sidewalk and new trees. Over the years I have seen them reconfigure that sidewalk at least half a dozen times. Add trees, cut down trees, wrong trees, right trees, add bricks, remove bricks, and never have those things mattered.
What's sad is these planners know that it doesn't matter, that it's a joke, yet they still do it.
If the new buildings in the above rendering of the new Gateway sidewalk/tree project look lifeless and nondescript, it is because those new buildings are lifeless and nondescript. If I have offended any of the planners, then we're even.
above reprinted from December of 2022
ADDENDUM APRIL 30, 2025: A current piece in the Morning Call is about Urban Forestry. Apparently, there is a grant for sidewalk trees. I can tell you that today's trees are tomorrow's sidewalk replacement, and in Allentown that is generally at the homeowner's expense. Trees and sidewalks are not compatible for the long term.
That’s the thing about grants. Failed government bodies are “all in”
ReplyDeleteno matter what the offer. Heck, that’s like FREE money . . . we’ll do it!
Riparian weed walls you say? YES! Removing dams? Electric buses? Neighborhood front groups? Sex education in Kindergarten? Bring it on.
Trees are nice for dogs to mark out their spots along the street.
ReplyDeleteWill they bring me downtown? no
Extending the sidewalks out won't do it either.
They give these contracts to friends, families.. people who they know. That’s how a lot of corruption happens. They always have some kind of hidden fees when they do RFP’s that never comes up in the initial bidding war over the contracts. Somehow we always end paying more for it and the constituents end up screwed
ReplyDeleteanon@7:12: I suspect that after the Pawlowski consequence, bidding is much more up and up.
DeleteI think street trees are a good thing. They are visually appealing and provide much needed shade from the hot summer sun. But as always, the devil lies in the details:
ReplyDelete1). Proper tree choice and proper planting can help minimize or negate the issue of future sidewalk damage.
2). Trees need to be the proper size - beginning at time of planting - to allow pedestrians and vehicles to pass by safely.
3). Ongoing maintenance and pruning is required to maintain healthy trees, keep new growth out of pedestrian and vehicle right-of-ways, and to make sure that dead wood is removed to keep those parts from falling on their own schedule.
4). Property owners need to rake and properly dispose of tree leaves in the fall, and the city needs to collect curbside leaf piles frequently.
And it’s in the details where the city fails. Outside of large, taxpayer-funded tree plantings, there is virtually no oversight of plantings. Homeowners (including the current mayor) routinely plant improper or undersized tree varieties, often without sufficient excavation to allow for deep root growth.
The pruning issue is ignored completely, and those walking and parking under large trees do so without knowing when (not if) a limb will fall on their heads or cars.
The easiest issue - leaf removal - seems similarly ignored, as too many property owners apparently believe that the proper way to remove leaves is to hope for a windy day. While the city does collect leaf piles weekly in areas that are posted for street cleaning, large portions of the city are forced to wait multiple weeks for their leaf collection. That means that property owners who are diligent enough to rake their leaves into the street get to do it multiple times because the city is waiting to collect the leaves, and the wind knows no property line.
So it’s not enough just to plant the trees. The city (and property owners) need to understand that trees are a long-term investment and commit to proper maintenance.
Unfortunately, long-term vision and attention to detail are not hallmarks of the current inhabitants of City Hall.
And as if all that wasn’t bad enough, in May or June (conveniently after the primary election) the city is going to switch to only collecting yard waste every OTHER week. So for those homeowners who ARE diligent about cleaning up their leaves and put them in their yard waste cans, they will have to wait an extra week for their leaves to be collected, and will probably have to double their current number of yard waste containers (at their own expense) to adjust to the change.
So after seeing our trash/yard waste fees jacked up by City Hall, we are actually paying more for less service. Great deal there, City Hall. Great deal.
anon@7:57: As I state in the original post, over the years I heard the wrong tree claim often, and then seen the replacements eventually causing the same damage. As for this or that administration, costs will always be going up and service down. There are plenty of places for trees, but sidewalks don't work out in the real world.
Delete
ReplyDeleteSidewalk ordinances require sidewalks to be level without raised edges, something that is impossible next to trees, fix them this year and then again and again. Pay for a permit each time and a authorized contractor to boot. A typical government inspired jobs program. Oh, and forget about cutting down the tree, that will be no, no. fore sure.
This is spot on. The people who need to listen to smart words like this are the very people who feel as though we are un-enlightened cretins who lack their vision. They are the same dullards who consistently say stupid things like "somebody has to do something" when doing nothing is the best course.
DeleteIt’s not news that entering Allentown from any direction is awful. I don’t know which direction most entries come from but entrance from any direction delivers drivers into an urban zombie zone. Coming in from the west is probably the easiest to fix, or at least improve. 7th St. is like North Broad in Philly, awful. American Parkway or Hanover Avenue dump you into forgotten areas filled with potholes. 78 to Lehigh Street has put trucks competing for street space in residential neighborhoods. Creating an “entrance” to Allentown, with vistas and inviting urban spaces is going to take a lot more than trees.
ReplyDeleteWhen I visit Allentown, normally I stay out in the Wescoesville area as there are several nice new motels on 222/Hamilton Boulevard.
DeleteThe most attractive way in is via Hamilton Boulevard/Hamilton Street as you pass by Cedar Crest and Cedar Beach, then up to about 12th street.
After that during the day its all cars and 2 lanes and driving through Allentown isn't pleasurable. And once you head off Hamilton you're in a city that really isn't all that attractive anyway. Especially Tilghman, which is narrow with cars parked on both sides. It's like threading a needle going along it.
MM - 7:57 here again.
ReplyDeleteI’m actually not that far off from where you are. The overall point of my post was to point out that there’s a lot more work that comes after the planting is done, if the city is serious.
And yes, I can accept that costs go up, but that SHOULD be offset by using clear priorities to reduce costs for things that are no longer deemed to be as important. For instance, I can recognize that the cost of maintaining and adding to the police force will go up, but I can also look to save money in other areas where money could be better spent (hello Promise Neighborhoods) to offset the cost of the police force.
As to the trees, if the city is going to be collecting yard waste less, doesn’t oversee ongoing tree maintenance and already doesn’t collect leaf piles enough; does it really make sense to plant more trees?
To me, it’s a case of the city once again having policies that are at odds with each other.
It’s similar to the state pouring hundreds of millions into Hamilton Street with the expectation that it will attract wealthy new residents and change the poverty levels in the city. Meanwhile, City Hall is trying to provide “affordable housing” to a never-ending stream of low-income NY and NJ transplants.
There’s a disconnect there, and it prevents the city from seeing real improvement.
the wrong tree that was planted throughout the city back in the 80's was the Bradford Pear. Trees that split in the wind with foul smelling flowers. They were planted along American Parkway as part of construction. Was a popular choice back then but now considered invasive.
ReplyDeleteThe city makes a BFD out of planting the trees and then makes it pure hell for the property owner where they planted it to maintain it and, newsflash, the city doesn't do any maintenance, either. For instance, a neighbor's tree has a rather large limb which is ready to die and I see no action by the city... when it falls into the street or onto someone's car, or worse yet. someone's head, who will be responsible??? I'll bet the homeowner, just like the sidewalk damage is the homeowners problem....
ReplyDeleteWell, this is the first time I heard about the yard waste pickup change... thanks for the heads up... costs more, less service... way to go, Allentown!! Thanks so much for more of nothing!
Typical all or none post again. Just because some trees planted in some areas weren't a great idea does not mean that no trees is a good idea. Pick the correct tree for the location and accept providing care. Buildings need care, streets need care, communities need care. Treeless expanses is a terrible compromise.
ReplyDeleteAny livable city requires (appropriate, maintained) trees.
ReplyDeletemj adams