Friends In The Park

This morning, Friends Of The Allentown Parks, sponsored an Accessible Discovery Nature Walk in Cedar Park. Leading the well attended event, with his back to the camera, was Phil McGrath, retired naturalist with the Pa. Dept. of Conservation and National Resources.

The Union Street Train Tower

The Union Street crossing was a busy place. It was located between the Jordan Creek and south 3th Street. Virtually all the train lines serving Allentown converged here. The Lehigh Valley Railroad's old main line also crossed Union Street further east, toward the Lehigh River. Allentown was at this time served by two train stations, the Lehigh Valley Railroad Station which was built over the Jordan Creek, and the New Jersey Central, which still stands as a closed restaurant and bar. This photograph, from 1930, is first in a series which will chronicle both the demise of our railroad era, and manufacturing base. Today, the tower is long gone and only one track survives. It is used by a private short line operator.

photograph from the Collection of Mark Rabenold 

reprinted from July 2011

The Trains of Union Street

Up to the late 1960's, Union Street, between the Jordan Creek and Lehigh River, was crossed by numerous train tracks. In addition to the main tracks for the New Jersey Central and Lehigh Valley Railroads, the area hosted many sidings for the industries that once huddled along this historic river front area. There was a small rail yard with five sidings between the UGI gas storage tank, which dominated Allentown's skyline, and Allentown Meat Packing Company.  The photo above dates from the late 1940's.  The map below from the early 1930's.



Small rail yard on bottom left of map. Allentown Meat Packing was the former H.H. Steinmetz Co. in 1932.

Armstrong's Editorial

State Democrats, teachers union betray the poorest students.

   Dramatically rising expenditures are forcing Pennsylvania’s fiscally stressed urban school districts to balance their budgets with draconian cuts and higher taxes.  In Allentown, the Lehigh Valley’s poorest municipality, the ASD’s 2013-14 preliminary budget calls for an 8% tax increase and the furloughing of 155 employees (132 teachers, 12 administrators, 10 custodial, and 1 clerical). Yet, these unprecedented measures leave the district short of a balanced budget, and projections indicate further tax increases and cuts will be necessary next year and possibly the year after that.

  Even though the ASD is regarded as one of the state’s best run urban school districts, it is facing a very  bleak future. The main culprit is the ballooning cost of mandatory PSERS (Public School Employee Retirement System) contributions that will increase by 37% next year (91% over the next three years). The rising cost of these PSERS is in effect transferring funding out of classrooms into this very generous and unsustainable retirement system.  For now, wealthier suburban districts are able to weather these increases, but for already cash strapped urban districts there is no margin left to absorb these new costs.

    It is interesting to note that these same urban areas constitute the base of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party. Geographically, small areas like Allentown provide huge tallies of Democratic votes in state wide elections, that have the effect of swamping Republican turnout in the much larger Republican suburban and rural areas. One would think the state’s Democratic Party would appreciate the value of these voters and act to protect the better interests of this vital constituency.

   Think again, right now Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party  is putting its allegiance to labor unions ahead of the best interests of  urban voters by blocking urgently needed reform of the state’s unsustainable pension system. In other words, the basic educational needs of  poor and minority Democratic urban voters are being effectively abandoned by Democratic leaders so that the lavish benefits of more affluent union workers can be preserved.

   While the cost of their sky high benefits are bankrupting urban public schools, the teachers’ union tactic is to blame Harrisburg. Rather than enter into useful negotiations that could lead to necessary reform, they point the finger of blame away from themselves and their cohorts, the state’s Democratic Party and state employee unions.

  Pennsylvania’s poorest children are now bearing the brunt of the rising cost of state employee luxury pensions. State employee unions and the state Democratic Party want the current administration to cover the pension shortfall with higher state taxes. In effect, they want those who have less to pay more to those who already have more. Pennsylvania’s urban poor would be wise to note the obvious duplicity and callousness of their Democratic elected officials.

Scott Armstrong

Armstrong is an elected member of the Allentown School Board.  The above editorial appears in today's Morning Call

Park Ranger Report

Well boys and girls, it's been almost a year since my first Park Ranger Report. Former Park Director, Greg Weitzel, is no longer with us. I have been contacted by someone in Idaho who is underwhelmed by Greg, he apparently took his Water World Plan with him to the new job. While on the subject of swimming, I made a disturbing discovery on a recent walk in Fountain Park. Although the City claims that the pool there is closed because of a filter problem, I noticed that the pool building hasn't been painted in so many years, that it's green paint is actually fading away. That lack of maintenance suggests that closing that location was planned years ago.

Rick Holtzman, Park Superintendent, served as acting Park Director between Weitzel and his replacement. During Holtzman's tenure, the park system was struck by Hurricane Sandy. As reported previously on this blog, the damage was extensive. Dozens of trees were lost throughout the system, especially in Cedar Park. To complicate the situation there, one tree smashed the walking bridge, just west of the rose garden. Holtzman did a terrific job cleaning up the parks, replanting trees, and even replacing the destroyed bridge.

I'm proud to report that awareness of the WPA has increased to the point that this outlaw was asked to conduct a tour of Lehigh Parkway. Soon, I hope to report that some funding has been secured for restoration of those iconic structures. Lastly, I got an opportunity to meet the new Park Director, John Mikowychok. I made a pitch for both the WPA and the traditional park system. My current park project is attempting to save the Robin Hood Dam from being removed by the Wildland's Conservancy. They received a grant to remove dams. Removing that small dam could well undermine the Robin Hood Bridge, and will destroy the ambience of the WPA designed section of the park. Hopefully, the City will protect this irreplaceable part of our history.

Allentown, Where Nothing Matters Except The Arena

Schreiber's Bridge and Mill

If the snail pace of construction on the 15th Street Bridge isn't enough to aggravate Allentown southsiders,  they have a new insult coming.  Although the Administration is fast tracking the arena, they are unresponsive to the fact that the State will close northbound traffic on the Oxford Drive/24th Street  Bridge for the summer.  Considering that the 15th Street Bridge was delayed for decades, one would think that the Oxford Drive project could wait until the 15th Street Bridge is complete. Schreiber's Bridge, built in 1828, will now receive  even more traffic.

PennDOT Announces Start of Oxford Drive Bridge Project in the City of Allentown, Lehigh County  On behalf of Governor Tom Corbett, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced work will begin Monday, June 10 on a project to rehabilitate the Oxford Drive Bridge over the Little Lehigh River in the City of Allentown, Lehigh County.

The project includes bridge deck overlaying, expansion dam replacement, beam repairs, substructure and parapet repairs, and other miscellaneous construction. Beginning on June 10 and throughout construction, northbound Oxford Drive will be closed and detoured between Fish Hatchery Road and Lindberg Avenue. Northbound Oxford Drive traffic will be detoured on Fish Hatchery Road, Cedar Crest Boulevard and Hamilton Boulevard. Southbound traffic will be maintained. 

Work is scheduled to be complete this September. 

UPDATE: Dan Hartzell, of The Morning Call, reports on the closure at 4:30 this afternoon. As usual, no acknowledgment of this blog, despite my numerous posts about the abuse being sustained by Schreiber's Bridge.   The PennDOT press release is dated May 30th.