Deteriorating Walnut Lane Golf Club Teeing Off Neighbors In Roxborough
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Neighbors of Philadelphia's Walnut Lane Golf Club in Roxborough say the condition of the course has deteriorated sharply over the last two years, with no signs that improvements coming. Park officials are pleading poverty.
The course sprawls down Henry Avenue and across Walnut Lane, giving neighbors on Magdalena Street what was once a lovely view. Feudi Pandola has lived across from Walnut Lane for 20 years and he says for 18 of those, it was an asset. Trees lined the gently rolling course, designed by Alex Findlay. Now those same trees have become a liability.
"I've never seen it like that. It's an eyesore," says neighbor Feudi Pandola. "It's dead trees right in front of my house, in front of all the houses."
Pandola, though, says it's even worse along Henry Avenue.
"There are city blocks where trees have fallen, crashed through the fencing and knocked it down," he says, "and just been left there."
Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell says she understands the neighbors concerns, and is working with the operator on removing the trees, but, she says, it's costly.
"Unfortunately, Walnut Lane is just one of many of our assets that are really under-resourced," she says. "It's going to take some time, but the department will be really supportive of their efforts to bring the course up to better condition."
Lovell says it's just another example of a city facility that hasn't been given the means to maintain itself.