Logan • After months of intense opposition from neighbors, the fate of a row of century-old trees is decided.
Logan officials announced Tuesday that they will move ahead with a plan to chop down and rip out the much-admired trees on the north end of Canyon Road to clear the way for a new waterline that will help support the growing area’s increasing needs.
In the lead-up to Tuesday’s announcement, residents circulated a petition to save the trees, tied ribbons around the trunks and spoke out at public meetings. It didn’t change a thing.
“Even though this pipeline alignment requires the removal of widely discussed ash trees along Canyon Road,” Logan Mayor Holly Daines said during Tuesday night’s meeting, “I believe this is the best decision going forward.”
The engineering firm heading the project looked at seven alternatives to this route, Daines said. The least expensive option would impact 90 additional properties, she added, and cost an extra $2.4 million for the pipe and installation, an amount that could easily double with unforeseen costs.
“These decisions come with trade-offs and are not always popular or preferred by everyone,” Daines said. “As mayor, my job is to make the decision that is best for the entire community.”
Construction on the project, which will include a 10 million-gallon storage tank, is slated to begin this spring. While no vote was required, each council member signaled support for the mayor to prepare the next steps for the chosen route.
“That pipe and infrastructure is critically important for our residents — new, old, future and today,” said council member Jeannie Simmonds. “I would hate for us not to have done something that would help prevent the fire like was in Los Angeles — west side, east side, Island [neighborhood], wherever it might occur.”
On top of speaking out against removing the trees, residents also voiced concerns about the risk of disturbing an unstable hillside that is prone to mudslides, and the installation of a sidewalk and road improvements that many feel are unnecessary.
Sydney Elwood, who lives in one of the homes most impacted by the project, said she has been continually disappointed by what she sees as misinformation from the city — such as assertions that the trees are sick and dying or that only six homes would be affected by the project. She said community concerns have been dismissed and minimized throughout the process.
“I have seen and heard city officials grossly underestimate the number of people who are deeply concerned about the project,” Elwood wrote in a letter to city officials, “and who feel strongly about doing whatever we can to preserve the things that make Logan unique and wonderful.”
The project will also include improvements to Canyon Road, Daines said, such as expanded curbs and gutters, enhanced bike and pedestrian connectivity and the narrowing of the road to slow traffic. Daines added that the city plans to work with Island neighborhood residents on designing the new roadway.
Some residents, such as Bruce Bugbee, understand why the city chose Canyon Road for the waterline but question other aspects of the plan. Bugbee, who bikes the road daily, doesn’t see the need to make improvements or add a sidewalk, as one already exists on the opposite side.
“It would sure help if they replaced the trees,” Bugbee said, “and then they did something just really nice besides a sidewalk. I don’t need any more concrete.”
Other Island neighborhood residents say they’re left feeling ignored.
“They heard it repeatedly,” said Logan resident Wes Mangum, “heard it from 4,000 people and chose to say, ‘No, we know better than you.’ At the end of the day, it doesn’t reflect Logan values. So many people have stood up and asked to be heard in a unified voice.”
A formal budget for the project will be brought to the council in the coming months.
