A meeting with Greg Weitzel
Yesterday, I had the chance to sit down with Greg Weitzel. Greg is the Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Allentown. Being a busy man, I was very grateful he took the time to sit down with me and explain in great detail the plans for the park system in Allentown. I was very skeptical of the Cedar Beach Parkway renovation plans before yesterday but after speaking with Greg, I can say that I am behind the project. He explained what they were going to do, why they were doing it and how they are doing it in great detail. As the project moves forward I will keep this blog updated on its progress. I will also be posting a review of the Cedar Beach master plan in an upcoming park log.
The recent upgrades in our parks like the bathroom in Roosevelt Park and the renovations at West Park have been done very well. I was very concerned about the Parks Department ignoring the history in our parks in favor of blazing forward with renovation planning. After speaking with Greg, I know now that that is not the case. Greg made very clear to me that not only have they conducted projects to clean up and preserve the WPA stairs and the Lime Kilns in the Parkway already but there could be more of that on the table in the near future. He also told me that my desire to see signs designating the historical relics in the parks is an issue the city is working on.
The city has a lot of plans for our parks and Greg is a very busy man. I want to thank him again for letting me meet with him. It was an informative meeting and I encourage anyone with worries or questions about the parks to send him an email.
One big thing I learned about in our meeting was that on Wednesday June 24th there will be a public meeting at the Allentown Public Library about Allentown’s Comprehensive trail network study. If you haven’t heard about this yet, check out this link. I think that this is a very important and exciting project for the city. Having a legitimate interconnected system of bicycle and pedestrian trails throughout the city would be an invaluable resource for Allentown’s citizens and would help revitalization efforts.
I will definitely be in attendance on the 24th.
The recent upgrades in our parks like the bathroom in Roosevelt Park and the renovations at West Park have been done very well. I was very concerned about the Parks Department ignoring the history in our parks in favor of blazing forward with renovation planning. After speaking with Greg, I know now that that is not the case. Greg made very clear to me that not only have they conducted projects to clean up and preserve the WPA stairs and the Lime Kilns in the Parkway already but there could be more of that on the table in the near future. He also told me that my desire to see signs designating the historical relics in the parks is an issue the city is working on.
The city has a lot of plans for our parks and Greg is a very busy man. I want to thank him again for letting me meet with him. It was an informative meeting and I encourage anyone with worries or questions about the parks to send him an email.
One big thing I learned about in our meeting was that on Wednesday June 24th there will be a public meeting at the Allentown Public Library about Allentown’s Comprehensive trail network study. If you haven’t heard about this yet, check out this link. I think that this is a very important and exciting project for the city. Having a legitimate interconnected system of bicycle and pedestrian trails throughout the city would be an invaluable resource for Allentown’s citizens and would help revitalization efforts.
I will definitely be in attendance on the 24th.
Labels: Allentown
posted by Andrew Kleiner at
10:04 AM
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