Allentown had one of the finest park systems in the United States, but one national fad after another has diminished it.
After the Park and Recreation departments were combined, former mayor Ed Pawlowski hired a succession of recreation trained directors, who in turn farmed out park policy to the Wildlands Conservancy. The Conservancy, like many of our other local sacred cows, have more influence than expertise, and promote trendy fads, not always site appropriate.
While the banks of our park streams were secured with Weeping Willows, rather than replace the aging willows, the Conservancy pushed for Riparian Buffers. The buffers become infested with invasive species which have to be cut down several time a season. Several years ago Allentown was warned by the DEP about Poison Hemlock infecting our drinking water supply from the Little Lehigh. Before the downside of these buffers were fully realized by the park department, all the new trees were planted out away from the creeks, only complicating the grass mowing. In the meantime, our citizens are cut off from both access and beauty of the creeks.
The Wildlands Conservancy, also in alignment with national trends, demolished two important dams on the Little Lehigh. After demolishing the Fish Hatchery Dam, that facility suffered the biggest fish loss in its history from flooding. Demolishing the Robin Hood Bridge Dam has despoiled the beautiful bridge piers and that immediate area, which formally was the pride of the park system.
I take great pride in having fought against all the above violations by the Conservancy. While I lost those battles in Allentown, I was able to help save Wehr's Dam in Covered Bridge Park from their schemes.
What brings me back to the parks today* is the announcement that Allentown has secured a grant to continue its plan to connect the parks with a trail. While the promotion states that the Trail Network is for walkers and cyclists, reality is very much different. As a walker, I can tell you that any of the Allentown parks is long enough...The connection is really for the cyclists. Any walker in the park will tell you that it's frightening and dangerous when a cyclist zooms by you.
As a longtime advocate for the parks, I could show the city where this grant money could be much better spent in restoring neglected existing features in our parks. We do not need to connect the neglect, but rather address and save our separate parks.
Decades ago picture postcards of our park system would be sent across the country. Now-a-days. those images are nostalgic reminders of what we've lost.
1955 picture postcard of Lehigh Parkway, before being despoiled
*Over the weekend Mayor Tuerk admired the creek bank in Lehigh Parkway. He should realize that by mid-summer that bank will be hidden with a 6' tall weed wall under current park policy. Also over the weekend state representative Pete Schweyer announced Allentown was awarded the grant to connect the parks. He should realize that we would be better off restoring the parks, instead of connecting them.