About Tim Rowland

Tim Rowland is a columnist, author and outdoors writer living in Jay.

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  1. Pat B says

    Up until a couple years ago there was a vista stop along Rte 22 between Whitehall and Crown Point. It provided a fabulous view of the southern end of Lake Champlain and northeast to the Green Mountains. Sadly it was being used as a local dumping ground for household garbage, mattresses, deer carcasses etc. Also a semi trailer would sometimes be left parked there. Sadly this gem is now inaccessible with guardrails installed to block access. Another stop is nearby but is not nearly as beautiful.

  2. Tony Goodwin says

    At the March meeting of the ForestPreserve Advisory Committee, Ed Frantz of the DOT presented a proposal to clear coniferous trees to allow more sunlight to reach the road’s surface and melt ice “naturally” rather than having to use more salt. Frantz was clear that this cutting would only occur in places where a thin line of coniferous trees was backed by a stand of hardwoods. In many cases, these coniferous trees have grown up on areas that were disturbed by road cuts in the original construction of the highway. I thought Frantz’s proposal made a great deal of sense, but there were objections because some of these coniferous stands were outside of the DOT right-of-way and therefore technically on the Forest Preserve.

    However, if the APA is now willing to consider cutting trees on the Forest Preserve merely for aesthetic reasons, I would think that cutting trees on the Forest Preserve to improve safety and reduce salt use would take precedence over view improvement.

    • Boreas says

      Tony,

      Another good reason to cut conifers and brush back within the ROW is to improve driver visibility, which could possibly help reduce car-animal collisions. The only time trees/brush in the ROW may be of benefit is to protect a steep embankment that starts within the ROW (think smaller roads).

  3. Davis Moquin says

    If the APA is so darn worried about Park vistas then perhaps it should also consider some level of protection for those still in private hands. Obviously they cannot purchase many of those and I don’t think it would be wise or balanced policy to do so. That said, here is yet one more example of the need and wisdom to move to a clustered development mode. Please make this a top priority.

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