Monday, May 12, 2014

The 80 Acres of Public Open Space in Glenville is Now Off Limits…..


I usually post without much text but feel this is something where I might try to say a few words. I also apologize for the amount of photos but, again, I felt a need to include them.
Every now and then I will stop by the old community of Glenville to look out at an area once filled with houses and now natural open space created when those homes were flooded by the Red Clay Creek and demolished. The state did a great job taking a 'ghost town', after the flooding, and return it to a natural state. The area is bordered on one edge by the Red Clay and the other by 1st State Blvd. The 80 acres includes open, wooded and wetland areas, perfect for people who enjoy nature.  The site also includes access to Red Clay Creek. This stream runs approximately 15 miles through Delaware and if you look closely you can see there is no real public access anywhere as it meanders through mostly private property, under Kirkwood Highway down to Stanton…..there are a couple short sections at Brandywine Springs and The Wilmington and Western Railroad. Then I thought the Glenville site needed a sign, you know…..like the kind they place at other preservation sites, saying it is owned by the State of Delaware, telling the name of the reserve and saying it is to be enjoyed but used with sensitivity with maybe a map showing a trail of where and where you can not go.

All the above thinking came to a halt when on a recent drive over to Glenville I noticed there have been signs erected stating….State Property….No Trespassing…..$500 Fine for Dumping. I couldn’t believe it! There must be at least 6-8 signs along the
road/curb as you approach the space. Now I am confused. So I came home to check resources and I was correct. The 80 acres is designated as public open space (see photo below) and titled Glenville Park (see this photo below also). Why are signs up and the county web site shows it is public open space?

 I cant help but think about the length of the Red Clay Creek from Newport Gap Pike (rt41) south to and including Glenville. At this time there is about 130 acres with ~2 miles of creek frontage available to be used and enjoyed but still there is no access.That's right....If you include the vacant 32 stream frontage acres of the Ametek site, ~22 stream frontage acres available between Kiamensi Road and Maryland Ave(Rt4) and the 80 stream frontage acres of the Glenville site you would have you would have one heck of corridor showing off its natural and historic resources and if I am not mistaking.... Glenville was built on what was part of Bread and Cheese Island, with residents as early as 1665.

Getting back to Glenville, I have included a couple photos below from the website Flickr, taken by Brian Henderson, showing what the Glenville site has to offer but is now, according to signs, off limits.
Glenville
Glenville
Glenville
Red-tailed Hawk (Glenville)





Northern Rough-winged Swallows (Glenville)
Warbling Vireo (Glenville)