We live on a gravel road. The county employs a road maintainer, who grades the road periodically, adds gravel when it’s needed, maintains the ditches, plows snow, and keeps the foliage cut back. This last is done with a sort of vertical lawn mower. It shreds the trees on purpose so that the stubs aren’t sharp. He’s been out there the last couple of days. The result is horrible.
A went out to talk to him yesterday. He’s a nice guy, just doing what he’s told to do, perhaps not with the full engagement of his brain, but let’s be kind. I don’t know that for sure. He told A to call the county trustee to discuss it with him. Within about 15 minutes, the county trustee, also a nice guy, was out to look at the damage.
This has to be done so that the maintenance equipment can get all the way across the road. The county budget doesn’t extend to hiring a crew to cut and trim the trees and shrubs manually. The trustee and the road maintenance guy agreed on some ways the job could possibly be done less brutally. I’m not optimistic.
On the plus side, A is very good at diplomacy and it makes me proud of him.
[…] on a county-maintained dirt road, and last week the roadside trees got slashed back. She posted this observation and set of photos about the tree mutilation happening along the […]
Unfortunately, this is also done here in RI. Nothing to say about it other than it’s ghastly. If trees could scream . . .
This is terrible!