Parking Authority Rehab

I wasn't at the meetings yesterday, but I have been wrestling with the Allentown Parking Authority for over twenty years. Yesterday their spokesman said...

... "It's not the parking authority's job to legislate, that city council's province. We have heard the customers, the consumers, the resident's complaints and we have tried to take the lead on legislation that would mitigate a lot of these issues if these archaic ordinances were changed,"

As a long term observer of the Parking Monster, I will take a wait and see attitude before any celebration. I'm suspicious of the Authority referring to archaic ordinances.  They themselves proposed the ordinances, and some, especially the 24 hour patrols, were only instituted rather recently.  Another question is the disclaimer that they will still respond to complaints 24/7.  

The only thing more reluctant to change than the monster, is the monster's keeper, city council...Its deliberation on the more minor issues is stretching on for a month.  Council, as a whole, will not bend on the alley parking issue.  I do believe that enforcement will be more equitable than before. Tuerk has made it an issue, and he would suffer political consequences if he deserts the cause. Nevertheless, don't suppose that the monster is napping.

We Got A Complaint

The Parking Authority's excuse for ticketing at a recent food bank was that they received a complaint.  Actually, they receive a lot of complaints, and many of them are from the same people, over and over. 

I applaud Mayor Tuerk for publicly questioning in whose best interests the Authority is operating?  

While he stated that he'll both appoint and/or dismiss people from the APA board to achieve reform, there are those who doubt his motivation about this, beyond lip service.  My hunch is that he is sincere, but there are rubs to the whole situation.  The parking decks created a huge debt service to meet. Parking bans in narrow center city alleys, especially those with houses, must be enforced.

The Authority at the April 12th council meeting seemed to put forth reasonable compromises to the problems. Assuming council can approve those proposals, despite some resistance by some council members themselves, a more citizen friendly Authority might emerge. I italicize the might, because change will require an attitude correction, which will remain to be seen.

Council will vote on the Authority proposals this evening

Black Friday

Once a upon a time, Allentown didn't have the benefit of current regulations. City Hall didn't have the vision it does now; they just let the merchants put up large neon signs without extensive guidelines and approval procedures. We didn't have the benefit of a Parking Authority; Allentown Park and Shop, one of the first in the nation, irresponsibly gave free parking just to encourage business. We didn't have the benefit of a remote Lanta Terminal; shoppers and buses clogged the street and sidewalks. Prosperity is over-rated, appreciate today's vision in The City Without Limits; Bon Appetit.
watercolor by Karoline Schaub-Peeler

above reprinted from November 26, 2010

High Culture-Free Admission Art Show

Morning/mixed media/5'x5'

I have been tasked with finding appropriate homes for Jessica Lenard's (1950-2016) remaining artwork. Jessica started painting in 1970, and lived in Allentown from 1975 until 1985. Her work is known for frankness and laid bare emotions.  These large (5'x5',4'x6') iconic paintings are nominally priced at $500 each. Other pieces also available. Those interested in acquisition can leave a comment with their name and phone number. Contact information will not be printed or shared.

The Family/mixed media/4'x6'

Weeping For The Willows

Fans of the Allentown park system see that the willows are in their last years.  Planted in the mid 1930's, they have served both the parks and citizens well.  Harry Trexler commissioned the leading landscape architect of his era to design the parks. Meehan Associates of Philadelphia specified that willow trees be planted thirty feet apart along the creeks.  The shallow, extensive root system of the Willows prevented erosion, and provided shade for the creeks and citizens.

Riparian buffers have become fashionable in current ecological circles.  Their intent is to filter out nitrogen from lawn fertilizer entering streams.  They were instituted in Allentown parks in 2006 on that false pretense, and seen by the park department as a way to also reduce mowing. However, in Allentown the reality is different. The storm water system is piped directly into the creeks, under these buffers. Worse, the buffers incubated invasive species, whose removal is much more labor intensive than simply mowing the grass. The park department is now realizing that the buffers are not Allentown park appropriate.  

I recently suggested to a park official that new willows start being planted along the creeks. The reply was that willows are not indigenous, that's another new ecological buzz term. Willows however remain recommended for bank erosion. 

The parks are not indigenous, nor are the swimming pools or the basketball courts.  The willows do however provide erosion control, are not invasive, provide shade for both people and fish, and are beautiful to boot... Not a bad idea Mr. Meehan had back in the 1930's.

I think that the park department need remember that they are managing parks, not indigenous species conservation districts.  More important is that these parks are for people to enjoy. A child playing by a creek bank is an experience now lost from Allentown, that we need to get back.

Weeping For The Allentown Park System

When Harry Trexler commissioned Frank Meehan of Philadelphia to design the Allentown parks, Meehan was considered the leading landscape architect in America.  It was because of Meehan that Allentown was shovel ready when the WPA started in the mid 1930's.  It was because of Meehan that our park system became the envy of cities everywhere.  

Throughout the park system he planted Weeping Willows thirty feet apart along the creeks. Their shallow, spreading root system provided the Little Lehigh, Cedar and Jordan Creeks erosion protection for almost a century. It provided both fish and fisherman beauty and shade along the creek banks.

Move ahead seventy five years, and in 2006 the from out of town new mayor Pawlowski combined the park and recreation departments, and hired a recreation major for department head. The new director turned over many park management decisions to the Wildlands Conservancy. The Wildlands introduced riparian buffers, even though the storm sewer system is piped directly into the creeks. As the Willows neared their lifespan and started dying out, they were not replaced. Rather, other trees were planted, back from the creeks, doubling down on the buffer concept.

We now realize that the creek banks are eroding, and that the buffers are incubators for invasive species. It is now the department's intention to seek outside consultants for recommendations. Rather than go outside again for advice, they should go back in history...Weeping Willows should be again planted along the banks. HOWEVER, the department REJECTS this suggestion, because willows are not indigenous. 

When I was a boy I lived above Lehigh Parkway in Little Lehigh Manor. My father's uncle worked for the park department cutting the grass along the creek. I'm saddened by the state of the overgrown creek banks, and the stubbornness of the city to not see the best solution.

Many of the original Willow trees have died, and the remaining ones are on their last legs.

above reprinted from May of 2022

More on the Willows tomorrow