Riverside residents are circulating an online petition objecting to tree cutting adjacent to Riverside Elementary School near the Drinkwater Rd bridge. The petition is addressed to Metro North, CT Dept of Transportation, Governor Lamont and Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo.
“We are concerned that the plan may be to cut every tree along the train tracks. The response we received from MTA was that they want to create a 10-foot buffer away from their overhead power lines and that ‘in cases where the tree in question is determined to be unhealthy and trimming is deemed to be insufficient, the entire tree will be removed.’ This does not appear to be the case in the recent tree clearings.”
The petition likens the tree cutting to the clearing of trees along I-95 between exits 3-4, as well as by the Eastern Civic Center.
“This decimation of the trees and wooded land bordering the railroad and highways in town is being done in the name of public safety,” said the petition which was started by Teresa Silvani. “Although the need to keep roads and tracks safe from fallen trees should be a priority, we wonder if the effort to carry out this objective has been overzealous and has not taken into account the impact on our town’s environment.”
Silvani asked residents to sign and share the petition, and reach out to First Selectman Camillo.
This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
See also:
DOT Tree Removals Along I95 Northbound Draw Ire from Greenwich Residents
Feb 3, 2019