The Wilmington morning star., 1945-04-10
CITIZENS OPPOSE
CUTTING OF TREES

Approximately so signatures OF
residents OF Wrightsville avenue
nave been entered on a petition
to be filed with the City Council
at it's regular meeting tomorrow,
when a delegation protesting the
City's cutting of shade trees in
that area is expected to go before
the municipal body.
The City Council has taken nc
action on the avenue, but it was
reported that previous efforts were
rnade to turn the project over to
the State Highway Commission te
construct a through highway tt
Wrightsville sound.
Leading residents of the section
have joined in protest in an effort
to prevent similar anticipated &C
ton as that on Chestnut street
when several large trees were re
moved for the re-paving of tho
street between Second and Fourtf
streets.
The petition follows:
TIC The City Manager And Mem
bers of City Council. Wilmington
N. c.
Whereas, the undersigned are
residents and property owners or
Wrightsville Avenue, Wilmington
N. c., between 18th Street ano
the city limits, and have within
recent weeks heard various ru'
mors, some of which emanated
from city officials, that the city
authorities and the North Carolina
Highway Commission contemplate
the paving an d widening Of
Wrightsville Avenue in such a
manner as to require the cutting
of most or all of the numerous
shade trees along said street, and
Whereas, the undersigned have
owned property and lived on
Wrightsville Avenue for periods
extending up to more than thirty
600 years, and have built. their
homes and improved their proper
ty with respect to the present lines
of said street, and know as a fact
that if the many and beautiful
shade trees are cut from in front
of their homes their property
values will be very substantially
and reduced, and
Whereas, from long knowledge
and observation of the traffic on
Wrightsville Avenue and the new
Highway to the Beach, which ws S
opened up some years ago, your
petitioners are firm in the belief
that there is no real necessity for
the substantial Widning of
Wrightsville Avenue with such de-
structive result in order to accom-
modate the usual prewar and post
war traffic from Wilmington to
Wrightsville Beach;
The undersigned, therefore,
earnestly enter their protest and OBJ
jections against any paving or 9TH
er SO called improvement of
Wrightsville Avenue which would
require the cutting down of the
numerous shade trees along said
Avenue; your petitioners assert
what seems to them to be an OBJ
vious fact known to everyone who
was familiar with the traffic to
Wrightsville Beach before the war
that such a widening of Wrights-
vile Avenue is not necessary for
the accommodation of usual traf-
fic to the Beach, and it is not 9TH
erwise justified for any reason
which has come to our knowledge
Your petitioners, therefore, ask
that the, city authorities advise
them what is contemplated with
respect to widening Wrightsville
Avenue, which we understand is
done under the North Carolina stat
utes under arrangement between
the city authorities and the State
Commission. and further
ask that the city authorities aban-
don any plans they have made Gf
any to widen Wrightsville Avenue
in such q manner as would work
the wanton destruction of the prop
erty values of the residents there
on as heretofore mentioned.