Katie Duryea’s phone alerted her that something was moving on her front porch as she taught biology at Southern New Hampshire University.
Between classes, Duryea watched a video of branches falling near her home on Main Street in Pembroke. Branches from a very old tree, with deep roots in town.
“As soon as I got home, I was pretty furious,” Duryea said. “I’m used to seeing the tree there and now it was like a gaping stump at this dirt pile. Pretty upsetting.”
The construction there to widen Main Street – leaving more breathing room for motorists, more walking room for pedestrians and updating the outdated infrastructure – had been discussed at public meetings for several years. At times, the fate of the trees were discussed as part of the overall project. Town officials were surprised no one spoke up on behalf of the old maples.
A notice had been delivered to residents explaining, in general terms, that a big renovation project was coming to Main Street this summer. It made no mention of cutting down trees to make room for a second sidewalk.
Duryea felt ambushed. She loved that tree, and the other ones along the street. She appreciated them for their beauty and the shade they provided for the children waiting in the mornings at the bus stop. Like most people in town, she hadn’t attended any of the dozen or so public meetings and hearings since 2017. She relied on the original flyer that omitted specific details and expected lots of paving and maybe some backed-up traffic from time to time.
Duryea said she wished the notice would have given an overview of some of the major changes that the Select Board had agreed upon before cutting time came.
“I’m not going to say that this was unfair,” Duryea said, “but when something happens and it might affect my property value and I had known about it, maybe I would have gone to meetings. I thought they were just repaving. It was never made clear.”
Karen Yeaton, the chairwoman of the Pembroke Select Board, said the town did its best to communicate decisions about the Main Street project. There were no secrets, no agenda against trees.
Asked about Duryea’s surprise when she got home that mid-summer day to find a stump instead of a tree, Yeaton said, “I don’t know why, with all the notice the town gives. All that information is discussed in various stages of design.”
She saw it as a chance to alert residents about their responsibilities in a Democracy. Meetings are a big part of it.
“This is a great opportunity to take advantage of enhanced communication through the public hearing process,” she said.
The Select Board reviewed input from officials and professionals, then approved the final plan.
Initially, the sidewalk on the south side of Main was to remain, while the trees, dirt and grass across the street were to be left alone.
That particular stretch of road where Duryea lives is 25 feet wide, five feet narrower than the roadways that feed directly into and out of that section of the block. On-the-street parking on both sides of the street meant a tight squeeze, especially after a snowfall, for other vehicles.
Yeaton said the board favored saving money by leaving Duryea’s side of the street alone.
Then, as Yeaton sees it, Democracy took over. She said residents who attended meetings spoke their minds. They wanted more space to walk. They wanted a second sidewalk that was wider and handicapped accessible and at street level. That changed everything.
“The people who showed up were adamant about sidewalks on both sides of the road,” Yeaton said. “There was nothing about saving trees in the discussions.”
Instead, parallel sidewalks were deemed necessary. “(We said) they’re going to have to cut some rather large trees down,” said Public Works Director V.J. Ranfos during a planning board meeting in the summer of 2021. “Nobody said a word.”
Duryea would have said something. She estimated those maples were planted nearly 100 years ago. The trees cooled houses in hot weather and shaded the kids waiting for the bus. Trees naturally remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They provided some privacy. They attracted birds.
Yeaton said there’s a lesson here. She said with support, the trees might have stayed. She said Duryea should have gathered like-minded people and attended the meetings.
Maybe she and her colleagues would have voted differently if an opposing voice had made its presence felt. They certainly would have listened.
“We would have,” Yeaton said. “Beyond the trees, there would have been the maintenance and the cost for maintaining the sidewalks.”
Instead, Yeaton said residents wanted to move in a different direction: cut the trees, build the sidewalk.
“I get frustrated with that,” Yeaton said. “Democracy is a responsibility. Residents have the power if they choose to use it. When people show up, it makes a difference. That is what this process is about.”