Respect the park
Anybody miss Friends of Pennypack Park yet? For those who use the park, it wouldn’t take long to notice the decline in its appearance the past few years. The FOPP did an awesome job in trying to supplement the city’s efforts to keep this slice of paradise well maintained and a true pleasure to visit for a number of activities. Sadly, it is not the place it once was.
It would be real easy to find fault with the city’s attention to it. However, the real roots of the park’s decline clearly lie at the feet of those who use it, whether regularly or occasionally. Philadelphia has long earned its proud reputations for passionate sports fans, cheesesteaks and Tastykakes. Unfortunately, “Filthadelphia” is also a well-earned title, and the condition of this beautiful gift of nature & God has been its latest proving ground. Simply put, too many people who use the park are slobs and totally disrespectful who apparently blend in well with the trash and garbage they leave behind. If a reader of this is not one of those dirtballs, then this article is not about you. But we all see others who do have zero regard for it, with trash now appearing off the beaten paths, piling up in places that reflect being tossed and dumped willfully. One does not have to go or look far to see all this repulsiveness.
Yes, the Friends of Pennypack Park are missed bigtime, and to expect the city to keep up with the slobs and dirtballs who are increasingly ruining this onetime “jewel” of the Northeast would be unfair. What is the answer? How about these same human beings who are using the park either stop trashing it or do a much better job cleaning up after themselves, or both.
What a silly idea that is. How about a full-court press be put on getting the word out for people to step up their “clean-up game” down the park. How about getting people to think about how they wouldn’t want others to trash their homes and backyards? Oops. I think the answer just came to me and anybody else who may care about all this. There is a connection between how too many folks live and how they would show respect or disrespect to our environment. Let’s hope this changes down Pennypack Park real soon.
James McCaffrey
Mayfair
6 more years
As a U.S. Army Counterintelligence/HUMINT collector, I served in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq conducting Counterintelligence Force Protection Source Operations. In this role, I helped keep our service members safe. As a veteran, I care deeply about my fellow veterans and current military personnel and our families.
Because I care so deeply, I am signing my name to Veterans for Casey, a coalition of servicemembers from across Pennsylvania who are committed to supporting Sen. Bob Casey’s reelection campaign.
Sen. Casey not only cares about veterans, but he has proven that he can actually get things done in a Senate where obstruction and personal attacks are strategy. One of the best examples of his demonstrated ability is that he wrote and passed the bipartisan ABLE Age Adjustment Act. This imperator legislation will allow more than 1 million disabled veterans to save money without risking their federal disability benefits.
His legislation will positively affect the lives of so many people who sacrificed for our country. Having a senator like Bob Casey, who is willing to reach across the aisle, makes an incredible impact for the veteran community. Because of Sen. Casey’s efforts and accomplishments I am doing anything I can to make sure he continues to represent us in the Senate.
Robert Gurtcheff
Walton Park
No need for ticket cameras
The 2 letters from Aug. 9 about automated traffic enforcement missed the mark. Cameras have had a variety of problems, which are not isolated cases. Camera areas saw more crashes, erroneous tickets, appeal rights practically removed, etc. The cameras need to make money, so the need for violations is always an issue. Tickets have been issued nationwide for technicalities, there have been short yellows, low speed limits and other tricks, which serve the purpose of keeping a steady flow of violations. Things like the dilemma zone are a real problem at an intersection. You have two bad choices, slam the brakes or floor the gas.
Corruption was said to be rare? Really? There are lists of people who were convicted of felonies related to automated enforcement. The Top 25 Photo Enforcement Felons is one good list, but it has not been updated in almost a year, so the number may be higher.
With best-practice engineering and enforcement, there is no need for ticket cameras. I cannot believe the naivete of some people. Either they have not looked into these topics, or they support anti-driving causes, regardless of the cost. Do you really expect anyone to say the purpose of automated enforcement is to generate revenue? Of course, they will claim it is for safety. The data is just not there. Also look at all the places that had ticket cameras, then took them out or made them illegal.
It is very easy to make most drivers into scofflaws. When you have old people getting camera tickets, it says a lot. They are the safest drivers on the road.
If you think Pennsylvania is immune to this, think again. There have been various cases of higher crashes near ticket cameras, tickets issued in error, FBI investigations, whistleblowers, etc.
The facts are what they are, even if you dislike reality.
James Sikorski Jr.
Wapwallopen
