Balancing ‘community needs and safety’

This is in response to the letter from Gail Graf in the August 3rd edition of The Warwick Advertiser concerning the tree removal in Memorial Park.
The Village of Warwick created a Master Plan for Memorial Park four years ago. The plan was done with a great deal of public outreach to citizens and the many organizations that call the Park their home: The Veteran’s, Little League, Football League, Firemen, etc.
The parking lot is part of the plan and we have actually modified it so there would be less tree removal.
The reason to have a parking lot on this site is its proximity to the Pavilion which is used by many groups that have senior members and members with disabilities.
The plan for the greater part of the wooded acreage is for it to remain wooded but accessible with pathways and picnic sites. A pathway has been roughed out. This will hopefully take some of the walkers off of McFarland Drive which is now creating an unsafe condition.
This woodland has never been managed using forestry guidelines so there is a great deal of work to bring it back to a healthy and safe place.
It is important to note that the greater portion (nearly 60 percent) of Memorial Park is wooded or protected wetland – this includes the Wawayanda Stream Corridor. The Village has been taking great steps towards environmental stewardship. Recently a volunteer effort was responsible for planting more than 400 trees and shrubs as a restoration effort to this important tributary.
Park use has increased dramatically over the past years. Many of the sports leagues have expanded to three seasons of activity. Walkers, skaters, bicyclists and general park recreation has increased greatly and with that, cars and parking needs.
The Village understands the concern of trees being removed and the important balance of community needs and safety. A copy of the Master Plan is available at Village Hall.

Michael J. Newhard
Mayor, Village of Warwick