My Address to City Council: Regarding Trails

Being an almost exclusively local park blogger for almost a year now, I hope that I haven’t surprised you with my recent posts on national climate issues. The weight of the decision the Senate makes regarding the upcoming Climate Bill is enormous, and the results of passing real change inducing legislation will shake the world in a positive way. I can’t help but feel compelled to post on such a landmark moment for America.

This bill is also rather indicative of our local political scene as well as our local environmental awareness. The inaction of our federal government for decades on climate issues can be seen here in the streets of Allentown. The invasive species issue is not new, neither is the issue of watershed health. It is only now, as some parks in Allentown have nearly degraded to a point of environmental abandonment is concern being raised and plans drafted to address these issues.

Nationally, the entire country is exactly where we are. The zeitgeist of modern America currently, for the most part, ignores, denies or refutes the reality of a changing climate be it man-made or not. Our climate is changing, and the affects of this change are unpredictable and in all likelihood, disastrous for humanity as a species.

Here at home, on the rust of our industrial past, Allentown Pennsylvania has the opportunity to ignore that increasing sentiment of ignorance and begin to turn the tide against poor environmental practices on a local level. Accomplishing such a goal can be dismissed as far-fetched, too lofty, or and I hear this quite often, too dreamy.

Recently, councilman Peter Schweyer called upon Allentown’s City Council to adopt such a vision, to help give Allentown and Allentonians a greater purpose. Such a purpose would put our eyes on the future and turn them from the Rockwellian images of Hess’ and Hamilton Boulevard in 1954 that so often seem to dominate the planning process of our city. The empty warehouses, the Neuweiler beer plant and the countless properties of blight in our downtown are testament to such a nostalgic focus.

Turning towards our future, in thought, spirit and action can and will change Allentown in substance and soul. Approving a plan that will encouraging walking and bicycling will help us get there. Building urban and community gardens across our downtown will help us get there. Refocusing our parks to serve as environmentally healthy classrooms that will expose a generation of children to the breath stealing wonder of nature will help us get there. Those kids will grow up in a world they expect to see that nature is valued. Those kids will have the sort of legacy that at best, is what we want to leave them after we are gone.

It doesn’t stop there. Allentown can, rather should, begin refocusing, block by block on infrastructure, livability, and environmental awareness. This is how new jobs get created. Trying to return our city to some dream of days gone by will lead us nowhere but further into degradation.

Support the Plaza Growers Market every week during the summer.
Plant a vegetable garden in your yard.
Do not eat at chain restaurants, eat locally.
Buy from Farmer’s Markets.

This list goes on and on. This is not advanced calculus. This is intelligent; common sense decision making that benefits everyone both immediately and in the long run. The things I just listed are the first steps we need to take individually.

Tonight, city council will vote to approve the trail network plan and it is in my opinion that this is the first step our local government needs to take. .

Setting this example locally and successfully as has been done in other municipalities all across our country; we will set the stage for a federal government that in the future would need not debate the merit of a sweeping climate reform.

They would know, based on what has happened all across the country, that it is just common sense and to do otherwise would be foolish.

Once our eyes are opened here at home, we can open the eyes of America and in turn, open the eyes the world.

Trails ahead: A look at other networks

During the trail presentation to city council on Wednesday night there was talk of other cities that adopted similar trail networks and the resulting positive economic impact as well as the strong community bonds that are forged through such a system. I did not doubt the authenticity of these claims, but I was curious to see what I could find out about these programs.

The first thing I learned is that interconnected systems of parks and urban landmarks are far from new ideas. As a matter of fact, the idea used to be defined by the term “park system” and London England gets the credit for the first one. Other cities followed suit and interconnected parks began springing up across Europe and into America. In the 1880’s, Frederick Law Olmstead created the “Emerald Necklace” in Boston Massachusetts, and it exists to this day.

As town planning became city planning and then urban planning, the design and purpose of park systems changed. The idea of greenways returning nature to the concrete jungles of 20th century cities became the focus of planning such systems. In an increasingly urban world, these strips of green serve as a reminder of the rural and of our connection with nature.

Looking up the specific projects mentioned during the city council meeting was a surprising experience. Instead of finding a lack on information, my Google searches were flooded by website after website: academic journal entry, community webpages, blogs, fan pages, etc..

Across America trails are happening folks. As close as York or Harrisburg, the positive economic benefits of such plans have been extensively documented. Trail systems like the one proposed for Allentown have been proven success in nearly every state in our union. Each city has dedicated volunteers who help maintain the trails and in Nashville TN, there is a state wide hiking club that offers daily hikes somewhere on the interconnected trails that stretch across the entire state. (And, TN is a loooong state. I have had to drive across it, not much fun.)

What the research I have done has shown me is that in case after case, these greenway systems dramatically alter and change the areas where they are developed in a positive way.

As I stated yesterday, I still have issues with parts of this plan and it is an absolute necessity to avoid paving in watershed areas. Stay involved. I certainly will. Each part of the plan will be up for public debate as it is implemented. We can keep making it better. It is time for everyone in this city who cares to step up to the plate with our elected officials and take a swing for the fences. We all need to be involved to ensure that this plan is implemented in the best way possible as well as the most environmentally sound way possible. We are a community. As individual members of that community we must stand up, join together, and push our city forward towards progress.

Until the next time…

It's a Plan: City Council Trail Presentation

The Greenways presentation was little changed from the debut of the draft plan at the last public meeting in January. What was different this time was that the plan was debuted to city council and the members asked questions about it. Each councilperson asked at least one question or made at least one comment. Councilman Donovan vocalized that he wanted to make sure every detail about this plan was debated and considered before implementation, to avoid a repeat of the miscommunications that led to the issues over the Cedar Beach Parkway renovations.

What, in my opinion, was the most important commentary came from Councilman Schweyer:
“ The city needs a vision.”

Councilman Schweyer is correct. As the council ended their questioning, they opened the floor to public comment. Randy Faye, a recently retired park employee called upon city council to remember that our park system exists the way it does because of a financial crisis that is not dissimilar from the one we find ourselves in today. A gentleman named Joe living near to Trexler Park voiced his support and echoed the sentiments of councilman Schweyer.

Of all the folks who made their opinions known last night (even I got in on the action), Dr. David McGuire brought the house down with an informed commentary and a familiar handout. Dr. McGuire stated that he supported the plan and the goals of the plan but he was concerned about the “location of paths” and the “composition of trails”. Dr. McGuire stated adamantly that there should be “no trails in floodplains” and that “paved trails should be an extreme alternative”. He then passed out the DCNR guidelines that I shared on Remember a few weeks ago. (See them here)

What Dr. Mcguire’s statements brought to the forefront was that not only is this a plan but that it is not an all or nothing issue. As the plan is implemented, if funding is secured, each phase will be brought before city council with a public input session before they are completed. The point of city council passing the resolution is to show that Allentown has an eye to the future.

I obviously share the sentiments of Dr. McGuire.

I also feel, and I told city council this last evening, that this plan will bring new business to the city and will begin to alter our image. I am 26 years old, and as a lifelong resident of Allentown I can say easily that most people my age have moved to Bethlehem or Philly and Allentown has not yet given them a reason to stay. Let’s give people a reason to stay.

I will attend every public meeting and information sessions about this plan as it moves forward (pending final passage on March 3rd) and I will share the dates on here. There are still issues and questions that I have with the plan as I am sure many of you do too. I am looking forward to engaging in a dialogue of progress and change.

Now, we have to get working on Trout Creek Parkway and Jordan Park. More to come…

Update: Had to change my wording thanks to a heads up from councilman Donovan.

Tonight: City Council Chambers @ 6PM

Come out tonight as the final draft of the plan to create a new trail system across the city of Allentown and between our parks is presented.

I'll be there.

As I have stated before, I believe this to be a good thing for the city of Allentown and is in fact something that was part of the original design of the parks envisioned by General Trexler.

Come to the meeting tonight to show your support.

There will be a public opinion session as well.

Hope to see you there.

Posts regarding trail developments:

A recap of January's public meeting

Should park paths be paved?

Allentown Parks and Recreation Newsletter Notes

Upcoming Public Meetings
- City Council Meeting February 17th 2009 – Trail Plan Presentation 6:00 PM in Council Chambers
- Keck Park Public Meeting February 25th 2009 – Mosser Family Village Center, Keck Park

Trail Initiative News
- Besides the upcoming City Council Meeting, Greenways has created a Facebook page to support the plan. You can find it here.

Canal Towpath
- Refilled without being cleaned out.

Cedar Beach Parkway
- Apparently the paths and stairs around the mirror ponds are complete.

- The asphalt paths will be “stamped and coated” to match the new walkways. You can read about that process here. I cannot provide information regarding the environmental impact of this particular procedure yet but with the current paving extending throughout Cedar Beach Parkway, it cannot be much worse. To combat the negative environmental affects of the new asphalt path, it is my hope that no mow zones and riparian buffers are extended to the edges of the path where it passes closest to Cedar Creek. I am anticipating the coming spring to see if such a plan is implemented. I hope to see it. I’ll be watching.

- The playground construction will begin around February 24th.

- The entirety of Phase One is scheduled to be completed by June 23th 2010.

Keck Park
- Environmental surveys (I would love to see those) have been completed and groundbreaking on park renovations is coming up in 2010.

Lehigh River East Side Trail
- A trail (mostly street) to connect Canal Park and Kimmet’s Lock has been drafted and sent out to bidding.

The Fish Hatchery
- Following the 2009 improvements, major projects are ahead for 2010 including: a new netting system, a new “environmental education” system and the creation of a new bridge to keep pedestrians off of Fish Hatchery Road.


My concern as we near the end of winter will once again be focused on Cedar Beach, Trout Creek Parkway, Jordan Park, and Canal Park. As plans progress, I will update as soon as I become aware of anything. Thanks for reading.

Also, a new local blog has sprung up that I think is definitely worth a read, Check them out:

Lehigh Valley Independent

The Future of Our Parks: Video Post

To Pave or Not to Pave

Before getting into the paving discussion, I figured it would be wise to consider the current path types in some of the major parks in Allentown.

First, in Trout Creek Parkway, the pathway is entirely paved.

At The Lehigh Parkway, there is paved and famously unpaved walking trails.

In Trexler Park, the entirety of the walking path is paved and like the Parkway, once served as a through route for automobiles.

The bottom line is that the majority of existing trails in Allentown’s parks are in fact paved. Where they are not, the path is most typically defined by gravel as in Jordan Park or formerly, in Cedar Beach Parkway.

As future development of trails is considered, should this trend continue? Should we pave our park paths?

I consider this a matter of environmental protection. Given that our parks are preserved open spaces, the health of the ecosystems therein should be the primary factor given consideration when contemplating future park development. Therefore, it would seem that the decision to pave or not to pave comes down to whichever method is most environmentally sound.

So, which option is it?

The bottom line is that both paving new trails and creating new unpaved trails in natural spaces is environmentally hazardous. It is a tricky proposition. Establishing easy access to what is left of nature in an increasingly urban world is a necessity. .

Therefore, I advocate the creation of trails and paths to allow access to our wild spaces. I consider it a priority of local governments to ensure that such an access exists. That access must be environmentally sound. That access must preserve the health of the ecosystem. With that in mind, I believe that the best answer to the question raised by the title of this blog post is answered by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

In a publication entitled “Creating Sustainable Community Parks”, the DCNR lays out the answer to the question simply:

“ Minimize impermeable surfaces like roads, parking lots, and paved trails. Consider replacing asphalt with concrete and permeable pavement, mulch paths, gravel lots and natural vegetation. Permeable surfaces help to recharge groundwater, reduce erosion, lessen flooding events, and filter out pollutants. When impermeable surfaces must be used, arrange them in an area where they will not fragment habitat, make them as small as possible, and keep them away from water bodies.”

So, the answer is, pave sparingly. If unpaved surface paths exist they must be maintained in a fashion that will keep the ground from being compressed by increased foot travel; which will lead to similar environmental hazards as paved trails.

It is my belief that the advice of the DCNR should be followed in any new construction by our Parks Department in our open spaces. The paving around the reflecting ponds in Cedar Beach Parkway, as it currently exists, is environmentally degrading. I do not support further paving at Cedar Beach Parkway given the paths close proximity to Cedar Creek as well as its location in a floodplain.

The current project at Cedar Beach Parkway is not being created in a responsible fashion. I believe that accessibility to our parks should be increased, but not at the expense of the parks themselves. There are alternatives to black top paving and those alternatives as described above should be implemented in any further development.

By the way, as a reminder to all Remember readers and park lovers, the DCNR also maintains the necessity of Riparian Buffers near any water body. Hopefully, we will see more of those this summer. I’ll be waiting, camera in hand.

Last Night's Meeting and Breaking Park News

Before I get to the recap of last nights trail meeting, let me share some great news with you.

1. The Irving Park staircases which were created by the W.P.A as part of a design deemed “the park of the future” will be repaired this spring. Parks and Recreation Director Greg Weitzel guaranteed it. The steps have been in a sorry state for awhile now and it is exciting to know they will finally be fixed in the near future.

2. I have also been told by Mr. Weitzel that the invasive species epidemics in our parks, especially in Trout Creek Parkway will be addressed and attacked this summer. The issues at Jordan Park will also begin to be focused on. This news excites me even more than the step repair. The greatest issue facing the future of our parks is the poor environmental conditions some of them face and to hear that this problem is going to be gone after is reliving and wonderful.


Now, about that meeting…

Let me say first that I was incredibly pleased with the amount of people that came out to this latest public meeting. It is a great thing to see a citizenry involved in the planning process of something that has the potential to affect every Allentonian. The level of involvement needs to remain high. Each phase of trail development will go under public scrutiny at future meetings. If ever there is an issue you may have with any of this, stay tuned. There will be more chances for you to be involved.

I asked the developers about paved or unpaved trails. The developers were very clear regarding the Lehigh Parkway. The paths that are not paved there will not be paved. As far as future development goes, each trail will be decided on a one by one basis according to public opinion on the matter. Again, stay involved! Considering this is still a draft, there was no definite yes or no on this issue and I will continue advocating for the exact kind of trail needed for each particular construction.

I remain excited about the possibilities that this trail plan offers for the city of Allentown. I realize that there is still time before any of this happens but it is time that will allow for continued public input. It is my belief that this plan will in fact have beneficial economic consequences for the city of Allentown. It will do so by changing the face of our city. It will make us “greener”. It will bring our community together in a way that General Harry Trexler himself envisioned and called for. The trails will be a genuine destination that will introduce people to the greatest city park system in the state of Pennsylvania. It will encourage hiking and trail related businesses to open in the idle, barren warehouse landscape next to what will be a new park in Allentown, the Auburn Trails Hub.

Some trails available for viewing will open places in Allentown that should be a part of our park system and currently are not. These include, the rails to trail I called for last week alongside the Little Lehigh and perhaps most excitingly, a trail over the idle trestle bridge which I have posted about a few times on here and which is a resource sorely needed to be used in our park system. This system will also allow Allentown to join the growing network of trails across Pennsylvania and ultimately attach us to the greatest trail in the United States, The Appalachian Trail.

This also sets up the chance to actively, on a citywide level, begin to repair the growing disconnect between our modern culture and nature. We can set an example here in Allentown for other municipalities to follow. The developers seemed very focused on improving our urban street scape and encouraging journeys into our most important green spaces. In addition to the educational opportunity, this also will allow a greater volunteer involvement in our parks. Like the AT, it is my hope to see various groups in the city work on maintaining and caring for new trails.

Knowing that the city is actively preserving and conserving our parks at the current moment while working to take them to the next level in the future is encouraging and exciting. We are not dealing with a city administration that is blind to our past or dumb to our future. Things are heading in the right direction in our parks and I will be continually posting about the progress as things move along. I will hold our officials accountable for the work promised, and for the work needed.

Remember, stay involved.

By the way, the area of Riparian Buffer in Cedar Beach Parkway that I help plant and subsequently discovered paved over – will also be replanted.

You will see it all here when it happens. Cheers to the trail plan.

Tonight: Trails Meeting

Hello Readers

I wanted to remind all of you that tonight at 7 O'Clock at the Allentown Public Library, the latest in a series of public meeting regarding the trail network study that has recently reached draft stage will be taking place.

As of late, the issue has become one of slight contention in the blogosphere and I myself am looking forward to having some questions answered. I am hoping to see a big turn out for the event, and I would love the chance to meet any of you who read my blog.

Come out if you can, come out if you have questions or opinions, or just come out to see what's going on. If you have any questions, leave a comment.

See you at the Library.

(South Mountain Video will have to wait for tomorrow)

Beyond the Parkway: Trails

The journey became surprising once I passed under the 15th street bridge.

To me, this area is unsurpassed in wildness and freed nature. No paved trail here just meadow alongside the Little Lehigh Creek. I expected only to find this.





Walking past the bridge, the trees started to look familiar. I began to consider the oddness of such an open trail here on the banks of the creek where it seemed nothing was.

The trees around me were all the same height. I knew that if it weren’t for the snow, I would see railroad tracks where I was standing. Farther on, the track became exposed.

I made my way along the ancient tracks and ended up behind an old factory.

I came upon a warped, broken staircase and made my way down towards waters edge.

To my left, I could see the familiar walls of Fountain Park, here marked with vivid graffiti.

Perhaps the oddest moment of discovery occurred at the bottom of the sorry staircase. Here, a perfectly normal picnic table sat next to an entirely abnormal young evergreen adorned with Christmas ornaments.


I am sure the tracks would continue all the way to the Lehigh River. I could not travel much further due to vegetation.

What a journey this simple walk had slowly become. I had wandered into the graveyard of the manufacturing heart of Allentown down the rusted spine of the long passed railroad. Had this been summer, this journey would have been impossible. I would not have smelled the rust of what had been, I would not have seen a thing.



This railroad should be a trail. My journey should be easily shared by others. I walked from the Parkway to Fountain Park by the hand of winter. The “rail to trail” program has been done successfully all over the country and if the upcoming trail development has true merit, this is the sort of trail that should be created. Nothing paved here, just a cared for path through the old rust and young wilderness that should be maintained by volunteers.

Major Trail Plan News

Of all the topics I have covered since I began writing this blog none has caused as much confusion and unnecessary controversy as the developing study being done in Allentown for the possible implementation of a new trail network throughout the city connecting our parks and other varied landmarks.

I attended the first public input session over the summer and was very pleased and excited about what I saw presented. Well, I am pleased to report today that the results of the that meeting combined with the completion of the study itself has resulted in some big news concerning the project.

First, another public meeting has been scheduled.

The meeting will take place on January 13th from 7-8:30 PM in the multi-purpose room of the Allentown Public Library. Please attend the meeting if you any questions or concerns about the project or if you just want to show support.

Second, a draft plan has been published.

The upcoming meeting will focus on said plan. I found out about the public meeting this afternoon, but I just received the draft plan at 2AM thanks to commentator Dan. In my initial read-through, I am very impressed with the amount of detail the creators of this project provide. The draft plan is very similar to plan discussed at the first public meeting and considering how far we are from seeing any of this becoming actuality, I am very pleased with what I have read thus far. Again, it is all still preliminary, most of the information in the draft plan is just that, information. I am very much looking forward to the meeting in January to see what the next steps will entail. The city is still looking for funding for the project, more public input is still needed, etc...

Mark your calendars for January 13th and check back tomorrow for a full review of the draft plan and any other updates.

All the current information regarding this project as well as the draft plan are available to check out here:

Greenways:Allentown