Trees on Center Street in Wallingford Will Come Down as Planned

Despite a public outcry against the town’s plan to cut down 38 trees along Center Street, Public Works Director Henry McCully has decided that things will proceed as planned.

McCully, who is also the town’s tree warden, said he reviewed testimony from last week’s public hearing, which about 24 residents attended, and talked with some business owners before making the decision, according to the New Haven Register.

Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. agreed with McCully’s decision and told the Meriden Record-Journal that the trees, which were planted in the mid-1990s, are too large and removing them can improve the downtown area.

Dickinson told the New Haven Register that the trees that are being cut down will be replaced by cherry and pear trees.

The Register reports that Town Councilman John LeTourneau, a Republican like Dickinson, criticized the mayor for being the one that actually made the decision.

“He’s not wired to compromise,” LeTourneau told Luther Turmelle of the Register. “He’s a good administrator, but he has absolutely no vision.”

Read the full story at the New Haven Register here.

(Pictured: Some of the trees on Center Street that will be cut down. Photo by Vinnie Salzo)