Many Westporters spent the weekend buying Christmas trees.
On Saturday, workers were busy chopping trees down. This was the scene at TD Bank on Main Street, just north of Parker Harding Plaza:
Today they were back at it. This time the site was South Moon Under, at the entrance to the Taylor Parking lot:
(Photos/Chip Stephens)
No word on whether they were dead, diseased, or simply in the way.
Well, they’re dead now.
Seems Fresh Market cut down all their trees along Post Road? Hopefully, all of these businesses will replace the missing trees with new ones (and add several additional trees for good measure).
I posted this about Fresh Market in October: https://06880danwoog.com/2019/10/12/fresh-market-freshens-up/
Well, before you know it, Westport will look like Norwalk!
OH HOW TERRIBLE. ASIDE FROM ESTHETICS AND CHARM IT’S A TERRIBLE THING TO DO RE THE DEPTHS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
There may have been good reason to take them down…correct?
By the way, some may find it interesting to know that there are more trees in the United States now, than there were over 100 years ago…
Some may also find it interesting that over the past 35-40 years, there has been a significant greening of the earth, in fact there has been an increase in leaves on plants and trees equivalent to an area of two times the continental United States.
Oh heaven forbid!
Hopefully those annoying trees will be replaced with pavement.
We need more impervious surface in the downtown area for, you know, “vitality”.
And flooding of course!!
Where is lady Bird when we need her?
Let’s stop wringing our hands and demand that the RTM stop clear cutting and indiscriminate cutting down of trees!
Go for it, Anthony!!
tis the season to cut down trees .
This is so sad. Ditto the comments and all the pavement.
I wish the town would address the dead diseased trees on my street. Instead I get crickets.
These trees in my personal opinion weren’t looking their best anymore.
I believe they just came to the end of their life cycle.
Especially the ones at South Moon Under, the tree root ball didn’t have much room to breath and grow.
If TD bank customers let the bank know that they would leave if new, large trees were not planted, the bank would have the job done in a week…if they do not protest in that way, are pissing in the wind.
Strange that so many people become emotional without knowing any of the details….all they know is what they see, so they assume its bad.
Tree gone…bad.
Were the trees decayed? Uprooting? Declining? Diseased? Hit by lightning? Girdling roots? Was trenching being done that would have damaged the roots? Were the roots causing the pavement or sidewalks to heave, resulting in someone tripping and suing? Were they obstructing the view of traffic? Was there a split or crack in the tree? Were they hazardous to cars and pedestrians? Were they interfering with wires? What type of trees were they? Were they shallow rooted, deep rooted? Slow growing, fast growing ( and brittle)? Were they invasive trees such as the Norway Maple?
Anybody?
They were TREES, Bob, and there was/is no word about replacement. Regardless of all the maybe’s you posit, they either should not have come down or word should have been given that they would be replaced by mature
specimens…..absent bank depositer’s protests, they will NOT be replaced.
Hi Dan,
Was this done on private property or town property?
Thanks.
Good question, Bob and do not know.
If town allowed, had to be P&Z which should be taken to task.
Nonetheless, TD’s feet should be held to the fire for replacement.
Should P&Z be taken to task if the tree were hazardous…or a potential hazard?
Should evil TD’s feet be held to the fire if the tree were removed to make room for handicap access?
Yes.
So every private property owner in town who takes down a tree for any reason should be required to replace that tree…and not with just any tree, but a “specimen” tree…. correct?
Why aren’t you the Tree Warden?
Too ornery to be tree warden…no, residential owners should not be in that category, but ALL commercial property owners ought to be.
If they take down a dead, hazardous tree….should they be required to replace it with a specimen dead hazardous tree?
Reasonable assessment should prevail, Robert. HOWEVER, the the P&Z of the past 10 or more years has been far less vigilant about trees than have previous land use folks and, thus, the town has suffered vis- a- vis pleasant sight lines…..in my opinion.
Hi Bob, these were on private property. I do believe the owners of these properties took them down. The trees were very close to the buildings and foundations.
Just from my observations, the South Moon Under trees weren’t looking their best anymore. They were growing out of a raised brick garden and a sidewalk. The root balls didn’t have anywhere to go.
TD bank one looked great however, the trees are becaming to big and mature for their locations. One tree was right next to the concrete stairs and pathway from the parking lot the root ball might be compromising the raised walkway, others are right at the foundation and another batch are on an small slice of a dirt Island again the root ball has no where to go but break up the belgium blocks and parking lot.
These are my observations
Good observations…trees possibly out grew their locations…or were planted in the wrong location to begin with.
Not all trees are the same.