New Paltz town officials would prefer that residents of the Henry W. Dubois Drive neighborhood concerned about the trees slated to die for the sake of the Empire State Trail wait to find out exactly which trees will be marked for execution before they ratchet up their protests. Though the preliminary plan for a shared-use path has not yet been released, homeowners along that road have marked those trees within the town’s right-of-way could theoretically be killed in the name of improving safety for humans.
Town supervisor Neil Bettez reported during a joint town-village board meeting on September 9 that the preliminary plan for this path won’t be released until after a survey of bog turtles is completed. Bettez is hoping that the plan can be released in preliminary form for public input next month.
Village deputy mayor KT Tobin wondered what could be done to ease neighborhood concerns. “I know you have no intention of pursuing a scorched-earth strategy,” Tobin said, citing Bettez’s service on the village’s shade tree commission and professional background as an ecologist with a doctorate.
Bettez said that the goal was to minimize the arboreal death in the name of progress, and noted that some of the marked trees were not even on town land. “I know it’s stressful not to know,” he said, “but it’s hard to talk about impacts without a design.”
Mayor Tim Rogers asked about the difference between the entire right-of-way — 50 feet across — and what will be needed for the shared-use path. Including a sidewalk or a bicycle path in the plan would result in more killings than the shared-use path now being studied, he said..
Some trees would have to come down, Bettez said, because human safety was tantamount, especially the safety of children who travel to recreational venues in the community.
Information about the project can be found online.
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