I met with representatives from Penn, Mike Hardy and Amanda Benner to discuss the 38th street road changes and the gardening issues there.
You might have noticed that the island where the rose bushes used to be is now a storage zone for concrete sewer pipe sections. - They kindly removed the rose bushes instead of just trampling them - I'm not sure whether they are getting relocated or what - but here is an update on what I know about the rest of the plan. The people at Penn don't totally understand the road changes and so a full explanation of that is yet to come - I am hoping to organize a meeting here on Woodland Terrace and be able to find someone who can adequately describe the traffic flow under the new design - residents of the 4200 Block of Regent street have asked to join us.
-Regarding the gardening down there at the portal point (39th Street) - here is a summary of what we agreed to:
The 5 foot planting bed at the end of the tunnel will be protected or replanted if damaged by the contractor and then maintained by the garden club.
Penn/streets dept will have their contractor relocate our bricks and stones from that area to where we want to re-use them (stones are from church that burned down).
The garden club will dig up and give away or reuse the other plants from the portal point (all sun loving varieties).
The 3 mature oak trees will be cut down - I am contacting Ed Patterson to see if he can "log" them or if that is a stupid idea.
The garden club will attempt to relocate the one maple tree on Baltimore Ave by the portal point garden (it has only been in the ground 1-2 years)
Penn/streets dept. will open up 18 new tree pits for new street trees along the Woodland Ave side of the portal and the garden club with UC green will plant and maintain the new trees using volunteers.
Penn/streets dept. will plant the 2 small traffic islands in the new road layout plan (probably using the same kind of roses that suceeded there before) -and then maintain them both.
Penn will plant trees all around its new Vet school building and landscape the area (initially some part will be just grass and later a landscaped walkway area like Locust Walk) it is going to be a substantial building.
Here is Amanda's letter from the other day to Bob Lundgren (Penn Facilities)
Hi Bob, Just wanted to thank you for meeting with neighbors Lauren Leatherbarrow and Mike Hardy and I to review the traffic reconfiguration of the Baltimore/Woodland/39th Street area and plans for the exterior of the new Vet School building. I'm happy to hear of the extensive landscaping planned for the new Vet School building and along the VA hospital grounds, and that you were able to move many of the trees from the former parking lot triangle to other nearby locations like the Penn Alexander School. Although we are all saddened to lose the portal point garden and other trees in those traffic islands, thank you for working with us to retain a planting bed at the portal point and to move the stones and bricks so that we can reuse them in the Woodland and Baltimore Avenue planting beds. Most welcoming is that you will open up 18 new tree pits along the north side of Woodland Avenue along the portal so that we can plant an allee of new trees as we have on the Baltimore side. Our plan is to put in Lombardy Poplars, the first street tree in America and now uncommon (for reasons we won't go into here), which have a columnar shape and will not shade the garden's bright flowers and other plantings. Please let me know when you think the tree pits will be opened so that we can plan a planting day with community volunteers. Also, if you have a source for quality Lombardys, please let me know. Thank you, Amanda Benner Executive Director UC Green 4013 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-3019 215-573-4684 fax 215-898-2167 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ucgreen.org
It is supposed to be pretty nice on Saturday - maybe we can all get out for a few minutes and pick up trash, clean up or whatever - - See you around - Lauren
Lauren W. Leatherbarrow
Architect
517 Woodland Terrace
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tel: (215) 386-3905
Fax: (215) 386-0063
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
