I agree. I love open cared for space, but not on places that should be saved. I think that Germantown CDC, (or whatever organization it is now) should work to save and rehab these buildings, and work with businesses to fill the vacant ones. Also, trying to get art galleries to open up, would help to save these beautiful historic places

Hello fellow bloggers.

Walking down Germantown Ave., I'm increasingly worried about the number of historic buildings getting torn down to create green space. Almost everyone likes small parks - I know I do. But what gives Germantown Ave. its charm and historical interest is its high concentration of 18th- and 19th-century buildings huddled close together. Now, that nice, dense streetscape is eroding, and bland grassy lots with a few spindley trees are poor compensation. So, yes to green space but not to a one-size-fits-all approach. Some places are old, dense, quirky, and meant to stay that way.

I can live safely in Philadelphia because I have a dog. I believe every neighborhood should have a dog park, a place where dogs and their people may wander with greater freedom than is usual with a 6 foot leash, which I think is the law. Why can't we set up dog parks throughout the city, where people might expect to find well-behaved dogs off-leash? Just as we could designate use-specific paths for bikers or hikers or horsebackriders, we could designate certain parts of a park as dog-friendly. Anyone using that part of the park would know that there might be dogs around. Any dog found in an area not designated specifically for dog-use would have to comply with the strictures of leashes. In the same way we could have paths marked for bikers; if a biker goes on any other path, s/he must obey a slow enough speed limit so as not to scare a jogger or hiker or horseback rider; a hiker on a bike path could expect to be surprised by a speedy biker, a horseback rider could feel safer knowing that on the path s/he took there should be no loose dogs, etc. When rules are fair, equitable for everyone, self-policing is a viable and fairly straightforward interchange. When rules are set up which do not accomodate the wishes of a large part of the society (ie, dog owners or bikers) then rules are violated, and everyone gets upset. We could have a win-win situation by setting up designated areas for different park users' different uses of the park, initially more complicated but ultimately more satisfying and fairer to all.

Enforcemnet of regulations concerning use of Parks
Education of all users
Subtaining and multi-use of the resources available.
It is a serious concern that some people feel that they have a right to abuse or disregard regulations and laws because a place is "public property". Somehow, the idea is growing amoung dog owners and other users of the Parks that because there is no enforcement, it means that no other person is allowed to tell them that there are rules for conduct and laws that allow everyone to enjoy the multi-use pleasures of our Parks.