Jordan Park: Yikes.
These are the days for swimming. Not a dog day passes that you can’t see a kid wading in one of the streams in our city parks. Now I must ask you, would you like to see your child to swim in this?
That is the Jordan creek at our Jordan Park. That is the area that is deep enough to act as a swimming hole for local residents. That is disgusting.
Long ago, the area where our Jordan Park now sits was once a swamp. As our park system was developing in the early 1900’s, the Jordan creek was dammed and the swamp was turned into a man made lake. That lake served as Allentown’s swimming pool for many years before the dam was removed and Jordan Park was turned into the park we see today.
The echoes of that lake are still present at Jordan Park in the channeled stream that exists there. As much as certain WPA projects in our parks need to be preserved, this relic needs to be removed.
These days our park system and proposed renovations and improvements have become quite the hot button issue. With all the fire that city council meetings, facebook and blogs have to offer, a fight has begun to rage over the Cedar Beach Parkway renovation plan. I ask you, my readers, do you not think it important that this water way in our park is in the condition it is in? We need the same spirit that is fueling the debate over Cedar Beach to bring attention to problems like this.
I believe it to be of the utmost importance that the situation in Jordan Park is remedied whether a playground is installed at Cedar Beach or not. If it is installed I hope that Jordan Park is high on the list of parks that need renovation next. The pictures don’t lie. Kids are swimming in that water. I didn’t want to dip a toe into it. Let’s get the fire burning for Jordan Park. Something needs to be done.
That is the Jordan creek at our Jordan Park. That is the area that is deep enough to act as a swimming hole for local residents. That is disgusting.
Long ago, the area where our Jordan Park now sits was once a swamp. As our park system was developing in the early 1900’s, the Jordan creek was dammed and the swamp was turned into a man made lake. That lake served as Allentown’s swimming pool for many years before the dam was removed and Jordan Park was turned into the park we see today.
The echoes of that lake are still present at Jordan Park in the channeled stream that exists there. As much as certain WPA projects in our parks need to be preserved, this relic needs to be removed.
These days our park system and proposed renovations and improvements have become quite the hot button issue. With all the fire that city council meetings, facebook and blogs have to offer, a fight has begun to rage over the Cedar Beach Parkway renovation plan. I ask you, my readers, do you not think it important that this water way in our park is in the condition it is in? We need the same spirit that is fueling the debate over Cedar Beach to bring attention to problems like this.
I believe it to be of the utmost importance that the situation in Jordan Park is remedied whether a playground is installed at Cedar Beach or not. If it is installed I hope that Jordan Park is high on the list of parks that need renovation next. The pictures don’t lie. Kids are swimming in that water. I didn’t want to dip a toe into it. Let’s get the fire burning for Jordan Park. Something needs to be done.
Labels: Jordan Park
posted by Andrew Kleiner at
9:27 AM
5 Comments:
andrew, thanks for bringing the condition to the public arena. it's hard for me to believe that any wpa project caused stagnation, but i will take your word. i think allentown would be better off if we had a park director who would be satisfied with being a good steward of our vast iconic park system. there is plenty of repairs and maintenance necessary on the existing features, without building more.
MM, i do not know what project the current bridge/ channel walls that are causing the stagnation were from. Even if it was WPA, they didn't have the science we have now. Its like Dr. Pattishall said in the interview I posted, "We know better now, we need to do better."
i don't accept pattishalls statement, although riparian buffers are much better for the water quality and stream health, they are not necessarily better for a park experience. there is a heavy metal contamination after cedar park and before the water plant which makes the riparian useless in that regard. i will tell you about it someday one to one.
could the bridge tunnel be somewhat blocked at jordan Park?
During my visits I have checked the drainage tunnels on that bridge and for the amount of water present there, they do not appear sufficient to allow for proper drainage and stream flow. The water there, excepting the locations of sediment buildup, is deeper than the majority of Muhlenberg Lake.
I guess the park experience is up to the individual. For me, increased wildlife habitat and plant life definitely makes for a better experience. I love visiting the buffer zones and observing. The great opportunity to reconnect with nature in an urban setting that these zones provide is unparalleled.
I forget to state that they do not appear blocked.
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