An error and apology
Print readers of the Local may have noticed the duplication of letters on pages 4 and 5 in this week's issue (August 11, 2005). An error was made in production which resulted in the deletion of the proper sequencing of letters and the omission of three letters and the incomplete rendition of two others. The missing letters will be printed in the August 18 edition. We regret any inconvenience this causes.
Scott Alloway
Letters
A critical bridge
Since I left Philadelphia 12 years ago, I have logged several hours defending my native city to skeptical friends. However unjustly, Philadelphia has an unfavorable reputation in many parts of this country. Luckily, many of my friends have chosen to visit me in Philadelphia and have been impressed, as they should be. They have joined me on trips down Martin Luther King [West River] Drive, where we have beheld the wonders of Boathouse Row, the Art Museum and the Waterworks. Some friends have come with me to Manayunk, Chestnut Hill and Old City, where we’ve wandered in and out of restaurants and shops. Frankly, Philadelphia rarely lets me down.
Forbidden Drive, the towpath along the Wissahickon Creek, is usually a surefire weapon in my arsenal of places that silence Philly critics. But recently, it let down one friend whom I am particularly eager to please — my girlfriend. On a trip home, I took her for a peaceful run from the Bells Mill Road parking lot past the quaint red covered bridge and the stone bridge at Rex Avenue. The start of our journey, however, was marked with great stress. We had to hug the walls of the Bells Mill Bridge while we walked on the narrow shoulder from the parking lot to the towpath. Cars screeched by, seemingly indifferent to the coming stop sign. My girlfriend clutched my shirt, half holding on and half pulling me from a potential accident.
Frustrated, I eyed the bridge. Widening this for pedestrians would be a hugely expensive project, I thought. And then I remembered all the time I spent on detours in earlier years as disputes lingered over the Germantown Avenue Bridge. So, it came to me that maybe the solution is a separate pedestrian bridge — an antique style wooden affair that could shuttle passengers safely from the Bells Mill parking lot to the towpath. By seeking out such a solution, the Fairmount Park Commission would help one of Philly’s true gems keep up its good public relations for the city. The commission might also save a life or two, and at the very least a whole lot of stress.
Michael D. Kerlin
Washington, DC
Good choices
Editor’s note: This letter was also sent to Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller
I live on Mermaid Lane and am opposed to the proposal to close Winston Road at Mermaid Lane and to install a light at Mermaid and Germantown.
PennDOT may plan for traffic to travel Cresheim Valley Road, but one of the joys of living in a city rather than by a limited access road is that there are choices. People will go there only when that provides the fastest route. One of their next best choices from Stenton to Germantown is certainly Mermaid Lane.
I suspect that Cresheim Valley has already reached its perceived peak. I don’t travel down there during the morning rush, when Mermaid Lane is most threatened. I can only judge by what happens coming back to Chestnut Hill from, say, Lincoln Drive, on Cresheim Valley Drive during the evening rush hour. It gets so backed up that people choose other routes. Mermaid Lane is not one of them because of how poorly it intersects Lincoln Drive, but if you want to see what will happen to us going into town in the morning, go to the other side of Germantown Avenue some busy rush hour evening in September and watch traffic build up on Springfield and Willow Grove Avenues. We will have the same thing in the morning.
The other problem is that, because of the traffic jams at Stenton Avenue, anyone caught there would naturally head down the hill before even reaching Cresheim Valley Road, so, once again, morning traffic will choose Mermaid Lane.
A third problem is that a green or yellow light at Germantown Avenue will make people on Mermaid Lane speed even more than at present, trying to catch the light.
I think that we could find a better answer to the problem of calming both Mermaid Lane and Winston Road than shutting off Winston and putting a light at Mermaid Lane.
Barbara A. Bloom
Chestnut Hill
Re-prioritize
This is in response to the “Unacceptable” letter to the editor on July 14 from Mr. Melton regarding the farmer’s market on Winston Road. I would like to say there are many, many things that are unacceptable in this world and closing a small street for a few hours in a week is truly not one of them.
As a fairly new resident to Philadelphia, I wonder why the writer does not consider it unacceptable that our schools are in terrible disrepair or the fact that students don’t have enough books in the classroom to take them home.
Why aren’t neglected and hungry children considered unacceptable? What about no health care for many, including children, being unacceptable?
Hopefully, one day Mr. Melton will consider those issues “Unacceptable” enough to have petitions around all of Philadelphia to improve these conditions. As one of the community leaders, why is he spending time on a petition concerning a very small street being closed for a few hours? That petition is “Unacceptable.”
Mary Clampet
Mt. Airy
Welcome move
Judy Jarvis’ report from London (Local, July 28) included a fact I — and doubtless many others — have wanted to hear: she picked up a free “Standard” with huge lettering reading “Muslims call for asbos on hate clerics,” which means removing their religious titles, she explained.
A welcome move — may it do some good!
Elisabeth Y. Gentieu
Germantown
