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LETTER: More care needed when trimming roadside trees

1 min read
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When vegetation crowds into state roads and restricts drivers’ vision, the state Department of Transportation has to cut it back. Mowing and tree cutting has always been a regular and labor-intensive part of summer maintenance.

This work used to be done with the intent of making the roadway look presentable and to keep berms clear. Not these days.

Using a large piece of machinery that extends an arm with a blade like an airplane propeller, a single operator can do the work of a whole crew, shredding bushes, severing branches and smashing through trees.

On Scenic Drive and Cove Road in North and South Franklin townships, the sides of the road look as if they have been cleared by dynamite, with trees as thick around as light poles looking like exploded cigars. Trash that has accumulated for years by the roadside has been left untouched, just as the fallen timber that lies almost on the pavement.

With our ash trees wiped out and other species being decimated by invasive insects, is there not more concern for how these trees are cut back?

This is work done for expedience, and without thought or pride.

Parker Burroughs

South Franklin Township

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