I apologize, Josh, for any intemperate response earlier (or rather,
later -- it was around midnight when last we corresponded).
The best answer to your questions below, is for you to understand that
none of the City's capital projects are subject to real-time review by
any citizens' groups -- from FoCP to the Pope -- once construction gears
up. So the answer to most of your questions is "No," qualified by that
understanding. At a certain point, community input/output drops to a
trickle as the government and its contractors concentrate chiefly on
informing each other what's going on. (Trust me: they really do need to
concentrate on that task, which, like many things in life, isn't as
simple as it sounds.)
All construction projects change a little during implementation from
what was planned a year in advance. Costs change; funds change;
unexpected structural surprises emerge as work progresses.
All these plans are "public" in some sense. But Philadelphia Capital
Projects doesn't issue routine, detailed weekly updates on design
developments for every park, health or rec center, police or fire
station, street or sewer construction job it has underway; and it
probably isn't staffed to do so. Anyone who wants to go FOIA on them,
I'm sure has the right to do so; but people who work with the government
to accomplish positive ends rarely take that tack, and FoCP never has.
I'd have to say, after reviewing them, that the plans posted on the FoCP
website are detailed enough for me, and more than you're likely to find
about any other Philadelphia capital project online. Yesterday's
blueprints, you never get. If you wish to be a good citizen and update
our website even further, your donated labor will be eagerly and
gratefully welcomed.
One last note -- the current tree-removal plan was, quite by accident,
easily checked. Trees slated for removal were marked with a white 'X'
several weeks ago. They were easily counted and easily studied. I posted
photos of them, with commentary, to the "Friends of Clark Park" Facebook
page. My lay observation confirmed what the experts are doing. Most of
these trees are mature-to-elderly -- thus, they don't have a long future
life; most of them show surface root structures that are clearly
destroying pathways and ground cover. You cannot plan a 50-year
infrastructure around trees like these. As a homeowner, I had occasion
to remove a tree I cherished -- until it began damaging my house
foundation. The City is no different from any other property owner; it
must do what it must do. New trees can be planted.
-- Tony West
On 9/8/2010 12:48 AM, Josh Marcus wrote:
Tony,
Here are my questions, repeated:
1) If FoCP has not reviewed or commented on the plans being
implemented, please let us know. If it is a mistake to think
that the FoCP is not very involved in the process, or if you're
not free to speak freely about what's going on, that would be a
good thing to make clear.
2) Have you have seen the plans being implemented? Specifically,
are the specific plans being implemented by the contractor public
or have they been reviewed by anyone outside of the city? If the
contractor has broad free-reign over the implementation and
priority (as you seem to suggest), does the community or FoCP
have any input into the process? If not, are you concerned?
3) Are those plans public? If not, why not? If so, where can we
see them?
4) How do the plans being implemented differ from the plans that
have been discussed in public in the past?
--j
