Trees mistakenly cut near bypass

The News & Observer, Sept. 19, 1991

By SUSAN KAUFFMAN, Staff writer

CHAPEL HILL -- A state slip of the ax has caused some town residents to criticize the state Department of Transportation for cutting more trees than they say were necessary as it widens the bypass around town.

Two weeks ago contractors for the transportation department began clearing wide swaths of trees and foliage to expand the intersection of South Columbia Street and N.C. 54 -- another stage in the bypass widening project.

In the process, a state highway subcontractor mistakenly cleared a patch of hardwood trees and brush on private property in the Westwood neighborhood, which borders N.C. 54 to the north.

As a result some people are angry about the clearing in general that stretches west on N.C. 54 as well as the encroachment onto private property.

"It was quite a slaughter of trees, not just for the property owners immediately affected, but for drivers on Fordham Boulevard. It's an absolute disaster," council member Joseph A. Herzenberg said.

...

Riding herd on the state is what another Westwood resident asked the Chapel Hill Town Council to do last week. Brent Lambert, backed by a group of neighbors, informed council members that he had prevented more damage from occurring on the property of his neighbor, Sydenham B. "Syd" Alexander.

"I hope the council takes this example and acts upon it to prevent it happening in the future," Mr. Lambert said.

...

Council members said they shared Mr. Lambert's concern.

"The tree protection task force worked for well over a year on the ordinance and all the time, the bad guys we had in mind were private developers, utility companies or maybe a crazed anti-tree citizen," Mr. Herzenberg said. "We never seriously considered a government agency would indulge in massacring trees."