BY BRYAN SABELLA
Staff Writer
Some Metuchen residents along Pennsylvania Avenue were less than pleased to see workers cutting down dozens of trees that line the railroad tracks.
Amtrak crews took down a number of trees along the stretch between Pleasant Place and Grove Avenue on May 15 as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to avoid interference with overhead power lines.
"It’s a part of a process we go through every year," said Dan Stessel, Northeast regional spokesman for Amtrak.
The potential for trees to disrupt service is a major concern for Amtrak.
"This is the busiest stretch of railway in the Northeast Corridor and, therefore, the busiest stretch in North America," Stessel said, noting that hundreds of thousands of people travel on it daily.
Some residents voiced concern that even little trees that were far from reaching the lines were cut. "Little trees become big trees," Stessel said, "and this is a 457-mile stretch of railroad. You obviously can’t come back to the same spot every year."
Some residents also complained that they weren’t notified.
"It would be impossible to notify every resident [living near areas where Amtrak has to cut trees], and in the end, what difference would it make? We notify the borough as a courtesy to them," Stessel said.
In response to suggestions that some of the trees may have been on Green Acres land, thus could not be cut without special clearance from the state, Stessel said, "They were [all] definitely on our property."
Dave Smith, of the state’s Green Acres Office of Compliance and Stewardship, said he had not heard of the issue and that it is most likely the case that all of the trees were on Amtrak property.
Richard Miller, chairman of Metuchen’s Shade Tree Commission, said he has requested Amtrak look into the possibility of planting some smaller trees and shrubbery for screening purposes along the stretch. Miller also said he has suggested to the commission’s Borough Council liaison, Rick Dyas, that the borough itself do some planting, should Amtrak defer.
Miller said that, ultimately, while residents may have been disappointed, this was Amtrak’s call to make, and at least no particularly valuable trees were lost.
"There were no specimen trees," he said.