[RP TownTalk] Trees Cut Down on Bike Path near Greg's Towing

Tue May 2 11:07:42 UTC 2017

Excellent post Alison.  

I'm guessing many of you think those businesses along Rhode Island Ave are not what "we want".  It's not about what "we want" people.  It's about our heritage, culture, and legacy in RP.  Alison eloquently articulated this "culture" below.  These businesses are just as much a part of RP as you are.  This is what makes RP, RP.  The way I look at it, if you relocated those businesses, you cut out an important piece of our community and discard it.

Consider all of the families that have been sustained over the years by the businesses along Rhode Island Ave.  It may cost more to relocate some of the businesses than their worth.  If that's the case, think about the impacts to the families of the employees not to mention RP.  There will be no more enthusiastic greetings from Pittcon employees, BBQs, and a vegetable garden among other things.

With a little vision and a cooperative effort between the citizenry, Town, and businesses, that stretch along Rhode Island Ave could be pointed up (sidewalks, landscaping, tree plantings) quite nicely.  It would cost a lot less that relocating those businesses. 

As far as the tree's go, PEPCO has been pruning trees around power lines longer than many of you have been on the planet.  I trust their judgment.  Why would PEPCO prune/cut down trees that do not need it?  That costs money.  You can't sustain a profitable business by spending money on unnecessary work.

On May 1, 2017 at 11:53 AM "A. Spain" <alisonspain at gmail.com> wrote:

I'm not an arborist, so can't truly speak to the health of those trees.  Looking at the remains, some seemed quite healthy and others rotted out.  I watched some of the removal and it seemed like they just weren't interested in selective pruning, which is unfortunate.  Curious as to what they plan to do with the remaining stumps. 

I like the idea of community space, but it seems like activating an existing and under programmed space vs. displacing hard working people and their businesses is more in the spirit of Riverdale's character and history.  The Cemetery above the Farmer's Market is a perfect example of a place that could be more of a gathering space with a sense of enclosure created by a bit of landscape buffer from East-West and a fence to keep the kids out of the road.  There's a lot of little spots like that tucked into Riverdale. 

With regard to the existing businesses, where would you relocate them?  Everyone needs or benefits at some point from the kind of labors and services they provide, including developments like Cafritz. Whereas the new Whole Foods pilgrims walking down my street sometimes say hello, the gentlemen who take their breaks outside of Pittcon always have an enthusiastic greeting for my son and have invited us to their parking lot BBQ on more than one occasion. An older Pittcon employee has been gardening between the trail and the building for much longer than I've been a Riverdale resident. His garden is not as meticulously landscaped as Whole Foods but I'm sure it's a lot more sustainable and local. My point being, there's more community happening on that little stretch of asphalt than you might imagine. 

Alison 

Tuckerman St. 

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