City Council paused plans to remove 75 mature trees on North Bradford Street in favor of giving property owners whose houses may be affected the opportunity to weigh in. The city’s Department of Public Works scheduled a meeting held Wednesday at Dover Public Library. As part of the city’s 2020 Streets and Alleys program, 75 trees were slated for removal from North Bradford Street, due to their roots damaging the road and sidewalks. Sharon Duca, director of public works, said in a June 29 City Council meeting that she has met with representatives from the state Forest Service will be completing an evaluation of the trees, “taking into account some alternative construction methodologies that were not reviewed during previous evaluations.”
Editor’s note: These comments were posted prior to Wednesday’s meeting.
- Has it ever been a good idea to plant trees next to the road? The road has been paved since I lived here. — Bob Hice
- I see your point. Certainly no engineer would approve such a thing now because as you’re alluding to, it’s not a good idea. But in this case, how long has the trees been there? As far as the placement of the sidewalks and the paving is concerned, maybe the city and inspectors agreed long ago to leave the trees in place, not realizing that as they matured they would create havoc. — Michael Jones
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• Bottom of FormWhile the idea is nice, it does loads of damage to the sidewalk and sewer lines. — Howard Gaines III
- They should bring in someone to give advice on how to preserve the trees while limiting the damages the roots have on the water and sewage lines. It would be a shame to remove those lovely trees. — Michael Jones
- I appalled the city would even consider removing these beautiful old trees. Work around them, as they have been there much longer than you and will be much longer than you could ever hope to be! The cost of removal will be horrific for the residents to cover, and the mess will go on and on. Plus, now all the houses will have to deal with additional sun damage during the summer. Just take whoever's idea this is and leave them in a forest until they learn to appreciate trees!!! — Holly Hitzig
- These trees are a great part of what makes this particular street so beautiful! These trees played a role into why these residents chose to purchase their homes on North Bradford. A picture of the street with the trees Photoshopped out would speak volumes. Removal would be an absolute shame. — Megan Kelley
