Letters to the editor (May 22)
McAdams Pool
In February, the Wichita City Council voted to close all but three of Wichita’s city pools. The first scheduled for conversion to a splash pad is the pool at McAdams Park. In the words of an Eagle article from Feb. 21, 2017, it “will see the most immediate changes.” Those changes include being closed in 2017 and being replaced by a splash pad in 2019
The McAdams pool is no ordinary pool. In 1970 it won an Honor Award from the Institute of Architects Kansas Chapter. This pool and bath house were designed by local architect Charles McAfee. McAfee created a design that “would destroy as little of the park’s natural environment as possible.” He located it in a grove of trees, which acted as a barrier to screen the area from the highway. It looks like a Grecian ruin and was built to last. No other pool in the city is as picturesque nor as solidly built.
McAdams pool was a labor of love executed by a man who Business Makers calls “the most important African-American architect in the United States.” He created it as a monument to the neighborhood, and today it is listed among his career achievements.
The pool should be saved, not just as a recreation site, but as an historical monument to its designer and the people of the neighborhood and should be repaired and named in honor of its talented creator.
Vernette Chance, Sedgwick County Democratic Women
Air pollution
I recently tried to purchase an electric car and found they were in short supply in Wichita. One dealer told me they don’t sell well in the Midwest. I can imagine they don’t if dealers don’t stock them. But they should, as using electric cars would cut down on Wichita’s smog problem.
Yes, Wichita has a smog problem. (Eagle, Feb. 28, 2017). The smog is caused mostly by emissions from internal combustion engines, such as cars and gasoline-powered equipment. It would help to switch to electric-powered vehicles and battery-powered equipment, such as lawnmowers, golf carts, tillers, and weed trimmers.
Though it creates air pollution to produce the electricity to charge the cars and batteries, it is better that pollution be produced at the power plant rather than in Wichita. Electric motors are also efficient. If you trace the efficiencies from fuel to use, electric equipment cuts the carbon emissions by about half - even if charged from a coal-fired power plant.
If you don’t like air pollution, you may wish to switch to electric-powered equipment whenever practical.
J.C. Moore, Kechi
Letters to the Editor
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This story was originally published May 22, 2017 at 5:03 AM with the headline "Letters to the editor (May 22)."