HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Most of the time, new sidewalks call for happy residents!
But the new sidewalks coming to the Five Points area MAY come with a sacrifice...
A sacrifice that Five Points residents don't want to make or see happen...
That sacrifice being the removal of one or both of the large, old White Oaks that sit on the corner of Russel Street NE and O'Shaugnessy Avenue NE in the Five Points area.
"We woke up Memorial [Day] morning to some roofs being just messed around with and just being told, 'no'... said Five Points Resident Katherine Brennan. "We couldn't understand why they wouldn't tell us what... Several, 'no, you can't know's.'"
Due to the rich history found in Five Points, there are guidelines for renovating just about anything in the neighborhood.
"We have to approve if somebody gets a new fence, even a mailbox, things that we don't care about, that we could care less than... But this... Everybody cares. There's nobody on the street he's not upset about losing these beautiful oaks," said Brennan.
She further shares her concerns: "I'm just super concerned about these trees because I've been living here since '96 and watched them this whole time. They're beautiful, old White Oaks. They have so many birds that are having babies in them right now. They provide an extreme amount of shade. If you- just the difference of the temperature standing here as to over there is phenomenal. I can't imagine what the utility bills will be once the trees go down but I understand progress needs to be made in drainage projects have to happen and that's great... as long as there's like a real project and not just, 'we're just going to chop this down and dig a hole and hope that works and five years later revisit.'"
In the long run, of course, Five Points residents do not want to see these trees go but as of right now, Five Points residents just want some transparency.
"First, we don't know why they're going... There's no transparency as to why they're going and then second, follow up... is what is the plan in the future? If we're just knocking if all trees that are close to the road are dangerous... Is then the plan is to knock down all the trees in Five Points? You know? This is why Five Points is so good because we still have this canopy. Very few neighborhoods still have this beautiful canopy and I just feel like they should be protected like everything else," said Brennan.