Why Don't We Ever Have Contingency Plans?

Everyone in Norristown who I talked to over the weekend was disappointed in not getting to see a parade. All understood the need to not have it in the rain on Friday, but everyone wanted to know why it wasn't rescheduled for Saturday or Sunday, as parades and other festivities in other communities had been.

I'm wondering that myself. The weather forecast couldn't have been more clear, so to speak, for the last week. Saturday and Sunday were both going to be beautiful--sunny and not especially hot. Perfect for a parade. Plenty of advance notice. Possibly a few of the groups slated to be in the parade would have had to cancel, but I'm guessing a lot of them wouldn't have.

Let's go a step further and say, why not have a simple contingency plan for EVERY July Fourth parade? Why not simply say, in case of rain, the parade will be held the following Saturday? That way every group signing up to be in the parade, as well as the police and fire departments, know the game plan months ahead of time.

The thing is, planning isn't our strong suit here in N-town. Either we plan events too late or, even if we set a date months ahead, we don't finalize the times or schedule of events until it's too late to get the word out properly (for instance, we rarely see an agenda ahead of time for Council meetings anymore). Or we have everything set, but do no publicity--as in last week's Town Hall with the Police Chief. Last Monday, people were asking if the meeting was for real, because they'd heard nothing about it until that morning.

And yet, one group had their act together this weekend. The annual Independence Eve Concert at Christ UCC Church wasn't outside this year, but they still had a good turnout inside. Every year they have it the same night--July 3--and say "in case of rain, the concert will be indoors," and every year they get a decent audience.

Of course, you can't hold a parade indoors, but as I said, you can set a raindate. If you're planning a festival, you can say "rain or shine" as long as you have enough tents or shelters handy, or better yet, an alternative venue. The Collingswood Book Festival, if it rains, takes place in their high school gym. Maybe THAT would be a good reuse for one of the old factory buildings we have in town--a Civic Center for festivals and trade shows.

We've had several events cancelled in the last year because of rain or snow. Could those events have been planned so that they could have been moved inside or been held the next day or the next weekend? I can think of at least two of them that could have gone on, if only the planners had thought to add a contingency plan. Make it part of the planning process--put it right on the event flyer so people know what to do when bad weather hits.

In my very first Diary entry last year, I said how I loved the way the town came together to either be in and watch our annual parade on July 4th. The event is always good for our town attitude. You only have to be in the parade, looking out at the spectators, to know that both kids and adults love it. The photos above, from last year prove that. We didn't get to see those faces this year.

The parade is too important to simply cancel.

Why Norristown Floods

(AND HOW OUR PLANNING COMMISSION COULD MAKE IT WORSE).
During this morning's storm, 10 inches of water swept along and over the curbs of my street. I assume Elmwood Park flooded--Stony Creek always does in this kind of weather.

Norristown was built on hills, with two creeks--Stony and Saw Mill Run--at the bottom. Much of the hill between the 2 streams is paved and developed. Rainwater is only absorbed by lawns and gardens. So when we get a torrential downpour, much of the rain that falls on that hill drains down the side streets from Dekalb to each creek.

I got to thinking about that proposed development at 1202 Dekalb, where 24 housing units with no yards would replace 2/3 of an acre of grass and trees. I wondered how much rainwater that parcel now absorbed.

I found a formula online: Every 1000 square feet of grass absorbs about 600 gallons per one-inch rainfall. The parcel at 1202 Dekalb is over 29,000 sq. ft. That's about 18,000 gallons of runoff per one-inch of rain.

The storm this morning lasted over 2 hours. I don't know the official measure yet, but I'd guess we had about 2 inches of rain. That means, if the houses at 1202 Dekalb had already been built, 36,000 extra gallons of water would have drained down the hill into one of our creeks. Or into the basements of residences along the way.

Remember the house on Penn St. that collapsed earlier this year? Saw Mill Run goes underground in that area. Before the dam on Fornance was built, East Penn, Main and Lafayette Sts. flooded in every big storm. The houses down there always have basement flooding problems. A wet season was enough to undermine the foundation of one house this time. Keep paving uphill from there, and you'll have more collapses.

Ironically, Norristown's website has a page about Storm Water Management. Here's a quote: "Direct all downspouts away from pervious surfaces and onto lawns." (The word "pervious" is actually not correct here, but we'll assume they mean "nonabsorbent.")  Here's another quote: "Rain Gardens or Grassy Swales: These specially designed gardens can be planted with native vegetation to provide an area for rainwater to collect and soak into the ground. Stormwater from rooftop drains and pavement areas can be directed to these vegetated areas."  Except that, lately, zoning variances are doing away with lawns and vegetation.

And so, another plea for people to show up to the Planning Commission meeting tonight. (Municipal Hall, 7 pm).  If you let the rain keep you away, the next flood could be on your property. Even if you live at the top of the hill, they'll use your tax money to fix the damage.