West Orange Drivers Will Pay If Forest Isn’t Preserved: Activists

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Community activists in West Orange are continuing their push for the preservation of a 12-acre forest on Mt. Pleasant Avenue. And it may be local drivers who pay the price if the effort tanks, they say.

Members of Our Green West Orange have been urging town officials to use Open Space funds to purchase a tract of undeveloped woodland on Mt. Pleasant Avenue and Ridge Road, which includes about 800 trees.

The stretch of woodlands – which they’ve previously called the “last piece of undeveloped ridge line in West Orange” – is more than just a pretty sight. It’s also crucial for flood prevention in the area, which has seen more than 60 car crashes over the past five years near a particularly steep curve of the roadway, activists said.

“Removing trees for development would spell flooding and danger to our residents,” Our Green West Orange stated in an email earlier this week.

The group previously stated:

“The forest is a sponge, the 800 trees hold back millions of gallons of water from cascading down Mt. Pleasant Avenue causing vehicles to hydroplane in the warm weather or become dangerous ice on the road in the winter. Without that forest, the road will be even more dangerous to automobiles and school buses.”

Activists also argued that the forest “provides the green space that people move to West Orange for,” and keeps property values high.

Activists have been lobbying the township to purchase the land and permanently conserve it, and others have agreed. On Sept. 11, the West Orange Open Space Commission voted unanimously to recommend using Open Space Trust Funds to purchase the forest, citing climate change and safety concerns.

Local environmentalists continued their push at the Town Council meeting on Sept. 24, with several people urging the council to act swiftly on the situation. Ultimately, no resolution was presented that night. (See video below)

Activists said they plan to keep up the pressure at the next council meeting on Monday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.

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