Parks Director Greg Weitzel considers his park plan something like the the English Constitution, a living document that can change as circumstances warrant. Below are segments of his detailed presentation to Allentown residents on Thursday night, which does answer many of the concerns. I also have links to several video clips: Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five.
The Plan is a Living Document
"The Plan. We have four guiding principles in regards to this improvement project. One was highlighting and enhancing the park's unique features, including Cedar Creek, Muhlenberg lake and the Rose Garden. We also understood that we needed to provide a diverse variety of recreational opportunities to serve people of all ages, interests and abilities. We have protected and enhanced the natural resources of the site, as part of this project, and we wanted to provide trails for recreation and fitness throughout the park and beyond to nearby recreation sites. And lastly, consider and improve the park for special events.
"We started with a preliminary plan. We looked at our site opportunities and concerns and we came up with a Master Plan. I want to make this very clear. This is a vision, a living document that changes over time. ...
"While this idea of a skate park is proposed, we understand that there's other areas where a skate park may be built. ...
"This is a vision, this is an idea of what the park could be. It doesn't mean it will be the end result."
The Nitty Gritty
"So we have our Phase 1 plan and I've outlined what exactly we're doing as part of that plan. So here's a summary.
"We are replacing three deteriorated pedestrian bridges.
"We are replacing and renovating our picnic pavilion area.
"We are introducing a vegetative buffer along the Cedar Creek.
"We are expanding and enhancing our trail system.
"We are restoring and renovating the Rose and Old Fashioned Garden.
"We're installing a new playground.
"We're upgrading the existing parking lots.
"We're renovating four existing rest rooms and installing one new restroom.
"We're upgrading the electrical and lighting system.
"And we're going to introduce new signage and a link finding system.
"There will be a youth fitness trail and climbing boulders.
"There'll be a pavilion and family rest room. This will be very aesthetic with a decorative fence and stone pillars."
The Playground
"The playground is 19,900 square feet. The playground is less than half an acre. The park as a whole is 109 acres. I've done a lot of work in comparisons over the last several weeks. Our pool, for example, is 30,000 square feet. This playground will be slightly over the size of two basketball courts.
"We need to talk about this estimating the capacity of a playground. Research indicates that the greater number of square feet allotted per child, there's a corresponding decrease in the number of injuries. Seventy-five square feet is considered ideal, so that equals to about two hundred and sixty-five kids. Now do we anticipate 567 kids in this playground at one time? No. Will there be 200 plus kids in the playground? Most likely during July 4th, Mayfair, Sportsfest and maybe other special events.
"Now one of the other concerns we have is this is going to change the character of our park system. That when you're driving down Hamilton Street, this huge monstrosity of a playground is going to stand out right at you. So we did a comparison to show people from eye level on Hamilton Street exactly how the playground will look. You will see this will not be sticking out as people are concerned."
Parking
"Another factor in our renovation is upgrading our existing parking lots. We're going to refigure and restripe our existing lots. There are no new parking lots being proposed as part of this project. We can fit 120 spaces in the existing pool parking lot. We also have 60 overflow spots next to the basketball courts. We're going to have 24 spots north of the pool, which is often referred to as the bake oven grove. There'll be 45 spaces at the Rose Garden pavilion area and 50 at the park and rec office. That's equalling 299 spaces as a whole."
Flooding
"What's the city going to do to address this problem? The proposed improvements respect existing flood prone areas within the park. The new natural vegetation and flowers along Cedar Creek will help to reduce these flood impacts. Improving the park trails will lessen the damage to the trails and reduce the sediment reaching Cedar Creek and Lake Muhlenberg. ... No new facilities are proposed in the park's flood plain."
Increased Maintenance and Supervision
"We believe this investment in the park will promote increased appreciation and stewardship. ... [Audience starts laughing and even Weitzell starts to smile at this obvious bullshit burger, and Council Prez D'Amore chides them] ... The proposed improvements such as the natural vegetative buffer along the Cedar Creek will reduce long-term maintenance and improve the appearance of the park. City crews will continue to operate and maintain the park in a first class manner."
Funding
"Phase 1 being funded through $1.8 million from grants provided by the Harry C. Trexler Trust, the Pa DCNR and the Lehigh County Green Future Fund. No city tax dollars will be used to complete any of the above-mentioned renovations and also, it's very important to understand this funding is project specific and cannot be used for other city parks or operational expenses."
Incremental Ongoing Costs
"The city anticipates no new costs as a result of these renovations. In fact, we believe the maintenance will decrease. Proposed improvements such as the renovation of the trails will reduce our long-term maintenance and improve the appearance of the park."
Disabilities
"It is estimated that over four thousand children in Lehigh County have a disability."
Why Not Make All Parks Handicapped-Accessible?
"Obviously, we would love to make all of our parks completely accessible and we'll work towards that effort."
What do you mean by destination park?
"This is a term used across the country. We want all our parks to be destinations."
Noisy Games at Playground
"Yes, the playground will have NEOS and it does have some noises, but we can adjust the volume and even turn it off if we want to."
Playground and Park Security
"We have the police reserves and the Allentown Police Department and we also hope the parents of these children will protect them. [Crowd starts mumbling again]. We have maintenance monitoring the park seven days a week. We just had an accident at the pool a couple of weeks ago and it took them less than four minutes to arrive on site."
