The sign says it all. Public Notice, it announces. Tree Removal. An advisory is attached to dozens of trees along Vine Road, alerting residents that their heavily shaded thoroughfare soon will become resculpted terrain. The wooded offenders are impeding a sidewalk renovation project, and they were slated for removal earlier this year. After protests, however, the city has decided to grant a reprieve to about one-third of the targeted trees.
The Board of Representatives will do that by allowing for smaller-than-planned sidewalks in the area which, it says, would be a better fit for the neighborhood than the five-foot-wide sidewalks originally considered. That size decrease means 13 of the 51 trees initially pinpointed for elimination will remain.
"If they cut all those trees, what are we going to have there?" asked Vine Road resident Bernadette Deveau, who signed a petition to protect the trees and was glad to learn not all 51 will come down.
Specifics of the Vine Road sidewalk project include reconstructed walkways and curbs, and new drainage installation. To coincide with city engineering parameters, newly built sidewalks should measure five feet across. An exception will be made for the Vine Road project, with the allowance of sidewalks measuring three and a half feet wide.
While saving some trees is commendable, others do require removaleven if they don't interfere with sidewalk reconstruction, according to residents. Deveau concedes several are "hanging over," and Harry Ramnath, a neighbor down the street, is pleased to know they city is demolishing some of the more dangerously positioned trees.
Taking a brief pause from watering his neatly manicured lawn, he pointed to a nearby tree leaning at a precarious angle with branches dipping over Vine Road and thick, gnarled roots emanating from the ground. "This tree needs to be cut down," he said.
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