The beautiful mature trees and landscaping along 4th Street in Dalton Gardens have always been one of my favorite sights in our rural city.

If the current plan to “improve” 4th Street is allowed to go forward as planned by the City Council and Mayor, much of that beauty will be lost to sidewalks, curbs, bike paths, along with necessary ditches and grassy swales needed to control the watershed from all that hard surface.

Not only will the existing trees and landscaping be lost, but fences and other improvements will be destroyed as well.

The widening of the road will bring the new “Urban additions” much closer to peoples homes, in some cases within a very short distance to those homes. These changes will also increase traffic on 4th street.

There is a great deal of opposition to the changes by residents that live on 4th street, as well as other residents who do not want our streets urbanized. The City Council and Mayor have basically ignored the public, until now, when they are desperately trying to convince us they are listening.

You have to wonder if Mr. Roberge would feel the same way if his house wasn’t one of the few along 4th Street with no real landscape to lose.

RICK JUNKIN

Dalton Gardens