Politics & Government

Residents Voice Concerns Regarding Lafayette Tree Removal

People who spoke at Thursday's Township Committee meeting said they are worried the changes will affect the streetscape.

Residents told Township Committee members Thursday they were concerned about the township's plan to remove trees along Lafayette Avenue so it could repave sidewalks along the thoroughfare.

The township had originally planned to cut down 28 trees and replace seven of those in an effort to repair its dilapidated sidewalk along Lafayette. But Mayor Nicole Hagner said that number had been cut in half after the township had reassessed the situation over the past two weeks.

Some diseased trees that had been slated for removal will now be kept, she said. She also said letters had been sent out to residents to inform them of the impending project, which will also include the repaving of Lafayette Avenue itself. That work will begin during the summer and will be funded with a state Department of Transportation grant.

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But that wasn't enough to assuage the fears of some residents. Janice Coviello said she was concerned the project would significantly affect the appearance of Lafayette, since distinctive red maples that now line the street provide a significant amount of cover and are part of the street's character.

"Those red maples really stand out," she said.

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Township engineer John Ruschke said the project's intent was to improve the sidewalk, not to improve the street's appearance. "This project was never envisioned as a streetscape project," he said. That answer, however, didn't satisfy township resident Marjorie Blanchard.

"When I hear that, that makes me very nervous," she said, telling the committee that she felt it should pay more attention to that side of the issue.

Committee member Bailey Brower told the concerned residents that he was in their camp.

"I think you have a great deal of sympathy on the group here," he said, gesturing to fellow committee members Hagner and Robert Gallop. (Members William O'Connor and Kevin Tubbs were not present.)

He told them he felt the township had been unfair in not notifying the residents of the project earlier. "That's not the way we like to do things," he said.

Hagner noted that the letters had been sent out to the residents, but Brower was not convinced.

"Too little, too late," he said, drawing murmurs of appeal from audience members.

Ruschke said the township will try wherever possible to curve the sidewalk around trees so they do not have to be taken down, but some of the trees that are slated to be taken down will not be replaced because the township right-of-way is not very large in those particular areas.


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