There’s a grassroots last-minute effort to save more than a dozen trees in downtown Branford slated to by cut down by the end of the week.
Nineteen trees along Main and Ivy Streets in Branford are set to come down. Laura Green contacted NBC Connecticut because she wants to stop it.
“My heart broke when I saw the pink signs on Monday,” she said. “I know the aesthetic beauty of trees are great - those will be lost whether or not they’re great trees to have in the area, whether or not they’re healthy. I would just like to have a public opinion hearing to maybe offer some dissenting views.”
Town leaders say that the trees have become a hazard because of their age. They’re worried that limbs could fall and potentially hurt somebody.
“It’s not only in a windstorm,” said First Selectman James Cosgrove. “We’ve had on a summer day, a limb snap.”
Cosgrove said this is part of a long-term project involving the tree warden that started two years ago, and trees have been properly tagged for removal.
Cosgrove said the project had its chance for public discussion at various boards and commission meetings.
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“The sad part is the town thinks that it’s communicating with the community and the community is not aware that all this is happening,” said Branford resident, Celia Toche.
Once these trees come down, new ones will be planted in the coming weeks.
“As long as they put new ones in keep the green going and that’s all we care about,” said Dylon Conway, another Branford resident.
