Pottsville finally has a downtown space built for people instead of cars, and it’s time to use it. Discovery Park should be the obvious home for the city’s official Christmas tree, and Pottsville shouldn’t hesitate to make the switch.
Everyone knows the problems with keeping the tree at Garfield Square. It sits directly on a highway with traffic running around it nonstop. There’s nowhere safe for families to stand near it. People can’t take photos without worrying about cars.
A few years ago, as many will remember, a vehicle even hit the tree, which forced the city to surround it with concrete barricades just to protect it. That doesn’t create a festive holiday centerpiece. It creates a hazard wrapped in Christmas lights.
Pottsville always brings in a beautiful tree, but beauty doesn’t matter much if people can’t stop and enjoy it.
Right now, the city’s Christmas tree is something residents drive past, not something they gather ’round. That’s not a tradition worth preserving when a better option is sitting two blocks away.
Discovery Park fixes the problem the moment the tree is placed there. It’s still close to the same roadway drivers use to pass through town, but the key difference is that it’s no longer in the roadway. It’s set back inside a plaza designed for foot traffic, not vehicle traffic. People can stop, take pictures, linger, and enjoy the moment without watching for headlights or squeezing between Jersey barriers.
This winter will be the park’s first, and the Christmas tree would give the new space a strong debut.
Instead of primarily being a warm-weather attraction only, Discovery Park would immediately anchor a new seasonal tradition. There’s plenty of room for a lighting ceremony, a choir, or even a hot chocolate stand. Those things simply can’t be done safely at Garfield Square.
The city invested in Discovery Park to create a welcoming public space. Moving the Christmas tree there shows the investment wasn’t just for cutting ribbons and daytime photo ops. It would show the city intends to use the park the way it was meant to be used: as a gathering place.
Keeping the tree at Garfield Square checks a box. Moving it to Discovery Park creates an experience.
If Pottsville wants a Christmas tree the community can actually enjoy up close, instead of one they have to admire from across a highway, the choice is obvious.
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