NORTHUMBERLAND – When PennDOT’s tree cutting crew first started on the Duke Street project in Northumberland, they started trimming too many limbs and virtually destroyed some trees. Neighbors noticed the ‘over trimming’ and called the Shade Tree Commission chairman Margaret Weirick.
Weirick heads the three-member commission, and has been overseeing the PennDOT trimming and removal of trees along Route 11, Route 147 and on detour routes. She said while PennDOT wanted to have at least 14-foot clearance for trucks along King Street, when the project started, the trimmer started cutting trees 20-feet up. She said the department responded quickly, but several King Street trees were badly damaged and look like ‘half-a-trees’ now.
Overall, she said it was a shame the trees had to go, and she still questions the need for the entire project. She also said weak leadership from the borough has led to irreplaceable loss of many beautiful trees. She noted some new replacement trees will go at or near where existing trees were cut down. Not all of the replacement trees will go on the same side of the street, or some, not even on the same street.
She says the saplings they’ll put in a few years will be beautiful in 20 years. She likened PennDOT to an invading force, unstoppable, and not truly listening to residents of Northumberland.
