Walking Purchase Park Master Plan Approved

Outdoor enthusiasts and fans of have another reason to be optimistic about the 530-acre hidden urban park in Salisbury Township.

The Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners approved a resolution for a $1.4 million improvement plan for Walking Purchase Park, a large, hilly wooded area on Lehigh Mountain that continues to transform from a dumping ground to mountain biking and hiking area.

Some of the improvements in the master plan, which is still a work-in-progress, call for new signs, a security gate, a boat launch, pavilions, a park office/education center and a 75-space parking lot off Riverside Drive.

Some residents who live near the park on Constitution Drive continue to complain about hunters and all-terrain vehicles illegally driving through the park that are tearing up the natural terrain.

Said one resident at the meeting about the ATVs, “They’re like weeds. You stop weeding, they’re going to grow.”

President Commissioner John Brown said the township police department does not have the manpower to patrol the park “unless you want to put up taxes.”

Township Manager Randy Soriano said the security gates in the plan will help deter ATVs.

The board adopted the resolution 5-0 at their January 27 meeting. The resolution was largely a formality for a plan Salisbury officials had already approved, but was required so the township can apply for development grants from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources by the April deadline.

The master plan also needs to be approved by the city of Allentown and Lehigh County, which jointly own the park with Salisbury.