If you’re used to parking in the overflow area at Water Street Park, be aware that the area is now off limits to vehicles and will remain closed for at least two seasons.
Hellertown Borough Council members discussed the closure of the grassy parking area between the creek and the paved lot at their meeting Tuesday.
Council president Tome Rieger said the closure is for turf repair and reseeding.
“It was one big dirt field in parts,” he said. “We’re trying to fix it.”
Public works director Barry Yonney said police have posted “No Parking” signs in the park to alert the public, but only did so after someone moved a large boulder that was blocking the entrance to the overflow parking area.
The result was that numerous people parked on the grass, he said.
Police didn’t ticket them because the signs weren’t posted at that point.
“We didn’t think we needed (signs) because of the barricade and the rocks,” Yonney told council.
“You need bigger rocks,” responded council vice president Phil Weber.
Hellertown Public Works Director Barry Yonney told borough council Monday he was surprised to discover someone had moved a large rock in order to access the closed overflow parking area at Water Street Park. A backhoe is needed to move the rock back into place, he said.
A section of the park close to the Water Street Bridge will likely be closed due to activity related to the bridge’s replacement this summer. That project is anticipated to begin in mid-June and be completed in mid-August.
Consequently, the Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market won’t be held in Water Street Park this year. Instead, it will be held each week next to the Hellertown Area Library, across from Dimmick Park in the Mountainview neighborhood. The market will open for the season on Sunday, May 5 and will be open Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through late November.
In other business at Monday’s meeting council discussed a suggestion to make E. Saucon Street two ways between Northampton Street and Rentzheimer Drive.
The suggestion was made by a resident at an April 8 meeting about a proposed public works building that the borough is considering constructing on the site of the former Reinhard School, which borders E. Saucon Street.
The resident said it’s been a one-way street in that area for more than 50 years.
Several council members seemed cool to the idea of returning two-way travel to the street, at least between Cherry and Northampton streets, where they said its narrowness and the need for on-street parking would make doing that difficult.
“It’s a small block to go both ways and have people in and out,” Weber said.
“From Northampton to Cherry, I don’t think it is a wise decision,” agreed Rieger.
Council decided to seek input from the Saucon Valley Community Center, which is located at E. Saucon and Northampton streets, as well as the police department and the borough engineer before making any decisions.
The issue is expected to be discussed again at the next council meeting, which will be held Monday, May 6 at 7 p.m. at Hellertown Borough Hall.
