Too much hacking of trees in Lombard

What is the matter with Lombard? I simply can't believe what has happened to my neighborhood in the past few years. The village today has butchered the last intact tree near my home. Once my house was in the shadows of a beautiful row of elms, with a giant oak next to my driveway. Each was perfect and in good health. Today I live next to a 30 foot tall carcass cut carelessly into the shape of a "Y", with the only untouched branches hanging over my house for me to deal with. The once beautiful Prairie Path now looks like an alley in the city. Branches are left broken and dangling. No regard for appearance whatsoever. A visiting friend recently commented that he was noticing "the utter hack job that happened on main street as I was coming over Saturday." And the most frustrating thing is that this is not limited to old trees, but the new young trees that our tax dollars went to planting just a few years ago have also been cut into ridiculously asymmetrical shapes. Why did we waste all that money? I don't want to suggest that no trees should be touched. Yet I just don't accept the excuse of mindlessly protecting the power lines. Simply drive to the surrounding towns and see the difference. Somehow Glen Ellen manages it. Villa Park and Elmhurst are gardens compared to our disaster. Why do we want this? The main feature of our downtown is now a parking lot. The Prairie Path and Great Western Trail are filled with rows of ten foot stumps and weeds. When I moved to this village I loved it here; now I wish I could sell.

Brian P Mucha

Lombard