PennDOT presents new plan to reduce tree removals along State College’s Atherton Street
Six weeks after fielding dozens of community complaints and concerns about the removal of trees along Atherton Street, PennDOT presented a new plan Thursday that would significantly reduce the trees removed in State College.
During a public tree commission meeting Thursday afternoon, a PennDOT official explained that — between Beaver Avenue and just beyond Westerly Parkway — the new plan would call for only 15 street trees to be removed as opposed to the original total of 46. Ten trees would also still be removed between Curtin Road and College Avenue, as part of the $17 million South Atherton Street Project, which includes roadway improvements and the relocation of several utility lines.
The State College Tree Commission never intended to stop all removals, acknowledging some needed to go and previously agreeing with a year-old preliminary plan that sought to remove a total of 20 or fewer trees.
“Nobody wants to see more trees cut down than we need to,” PennDOT’s Eric Murnyack, a senior civil engineer supervisor, said Thursday.
The change in plans comes just a month after a public hearing that saw more than two dozen community members excoriate PennDOT for not taking greater care in saving more trees. Ultimately, because it is a PennDOT project involving state funds, the borough technically had no say in the matter — but PennDOT had told the CDT, before the hearing, it still hoped to work together on the issue.
During last month’s hearing, residents pointed toward State College’s “Tree City, USA” designation as a point of pride. Others talked about the social and environmental benefits of the trees. Some brought up aesthetics.
Since that hearing, borough and PennDOT staff have met multiple times. PennDOT was able to relocate some utility lines, alter the curb design and take other precautions to save more trees. And it highlighted many of the trees it planned to remove between Beaver and Westerly, explaining Thursday why each had to go.
Three were decayed and damaged. Two were considered invasive species. In one case, utilities couldn’t be relocated because of a structure in a historic neighborhood. Another tree’s roots were a concern since the curb needed to be pushed back. Etc.
According to State College arborist Lance King, those 15 trees will be replaced with Silver Linden, Sawtooth Oak and Pacific Sunset Maple. The 10 trees between Curtin and College will be replaced with London Plane, Honey Locus, Shumard Oak and Ginkgo.
Tree commission member Bill Elmendorf expressed concerns that PennDOT’s new plan could be subject to change if the contractor encounters complications. In turn, the commission recommended hiring an on-site arborist to supervise.
Bids for the roadwork project will likely go out in May. The tree commission will next meet noon March 16, while borough council is set to meet 7 p.m. March 7.
