PATH Visit to Memorial Park

I promised to write about the PATH Foundation visit to Memorial Park. Here is what I have learned about the event:

Executive Director Ed McBrayer did make a courtesy visit Thursday evening, March 20, at the invitation of the current MPCA president to meet with him and the path study committee which was created last fall "purely for... "information gathering" and (to identify) "options (if any)" according to the October 2007 Newsletter.

There were several members of the MPCA path study committee, and about a half dozen other people, who may have been there to check on what the committee was up to. However, it didn't become clear, because the minute one of them opened his mouth to ask something, the current president of the MPCA immediately that anyone who was not a member of the study committee should please "defer"--his word-- "to those who have done all the hard work." Too bad, as he later reflected; perhaps their input would have been helpful. There wasn't even the nicety of having people introduce themselves. It might have been revealed that several in attendance were members of the MPCA's Park Committee, who also have done a lot of hard work in Memorial Park, and for many years longer than the path study committee's brief existence.

McBrayer seemed thoroughly confused as to what he was doing there. He admitted he had been told over and over, going back to the early days of PATH, by both the MPCA and its predecessor, Springlake Civic Association, that PATH is not welcome in Memorial Park, and will never be accepted by the neighborhood. Anyone who has lived in these parts a while -- and been paying attention -- might be aware of this history.

McBrayer did mention that no sooner did he receive an inquiry from the current MPCA president about the possibility of putting a PATH trail in Memorial Park, that the letters started pouring in once again from vociferous, outraged opponents of such a project.

McBrayer was assured, however, by the current MPCA president that the neighborhood is overwhelmingly in favor of paving around the park, as evidenced by a comprehensive (sic) survey, in which the majority had indicated they were very concerned about the issues of safety and erosion.

There was a tour of the the trail. McBrayer addressed each area, suggesting what PATH would do to Memorial Park. It was incredible! One attendee actually thought he was having fun with them, coming up with the craziest, most outrageous ideas he could possibly think of, just to see if anyone would burst out laughing and say, "I get it, Ed! You're messing with us, right?"

First he said he'd get rid of the on-street parking from Northside to Woodley, have the concrete 10' or 12' PATH trail put partly in the street, narrowing Wesley Drive (thus slowing automobile traffic to a crawl). Getting City approval wouldn't be a problem. He would then pave a 20-car parking lot inside the park at the curve of Wesley near Woodley. (Losing maybe 1/3 acre of park and the trees there). The paved trail would continue to take over the street until it gets to the dip in the ground past Wellesley, where all the beautiful flowering willows now stand. Then the trail would go off-road from about Wellesley (with a granite wall next to it) until it eventually went behind the houses). He suggested homeowners could mark their favorite trees in that area so the trail could meander, and perhaps avoid losing some of the better ones. The paving must be at least 25' from the vegetation that grows within the stream bank.

Now for the best part. The ditch separating the open meadow from the woods needs a bridge two feet wider than the trail (who knows how high and long). Imagine it to be 14' wide! Right now there's a low spot next to a backyard fence, which is easy for most people under age 90 to hop across, especially when it hasn't rained for a couple of days and there's no water in it. Building an enormous bridge would require clearing out many trees and ground cover, bringing in lots of heavy equipment, and I imagine solving some engineering problems due to flooding and what McBrayer referred to as "mucky ground". (I wonder how many trees would have to be mowed down just to get the equipment to that area?)

On the other side of the bridge is wetlands. There is always standing water over much of the area, until the land rises steeply going up to the sidewalk on Howell Mill. McBrayer's solution? A raised wooden boardwalk spanning the field, twelve-feet wide, until it would join more concrete trail on the hillside, passing within inches of a private property line.

Maybe he was just pulling their legs, and maybe he wasn't. Maybe PATH would really want to spend a million or two to wreak havoc on a nice little natural green space for no reason than it's there. Or maybe they're looking to eventually join Memorial Park to the Beltline, and it would have to be a wide, concrete, multiuse trail. Memorial Park and the neighborhood would look nothing like it does now.

From all reports, even the members of the study committee were horrified. Hopefully, they realized the neighborhood won't accept this kind of devastation of Memorial Park. They seem to be back to beating the bushes for funding for some other type of pavement.

Word of warning when begging for money. There are going to be strings attached. There is no free lunch.