[3rd&Brown]

only $5 million to turn the entire expanse into a park? wow. do it already. do you realize how much private investment it would spur along the line? many multiples of $5 million.

tearing the viaduct down when there is evidence of how great of a civic space it could be (just 90 miles north) is just downright short-sighted.

but then again...chinatown isn't known for it's planning prowess. this is the same neighborhood - the only one in Center City - which lobbied - successfully - for exclusion from the Center City district. the result - the place smells and looks like a cesspool much of the year (esp when the weather is hot and humid).

even andy toy must now how short-sighted this is...and i refuse to let $35 million in my tax dollars be used to destroy something with so much potential.

the city has been doing a much better job with it's civic spaces of late. witness improvements to the schuykill river trail and franklin square park. i was just over in franklin square this evening. it is lovely...and even though it is somewhat removed from chinatown...it is well-utilized by chinatown's residents. i'd estimate that 60% of the people in the park were asian. they should just trust the city on this one. the reading viaduct could be a gem...especially if it went all the way to temple. hell...i'd use it to get to chinatown...i could walk west on brown and pick it up past the old richard allen homes. that would be AWESOME.