More than 130 trees to be removed for Anthony Wayne Trail resurfacing project

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - More than 130 trees are set to come down as part of the new Anthony Wayne Trail reconstruction project in Toledo.

The hope is that it will not affect neighborhoods as much as first anticipated. A great majority of them will be taken from the median and not the neighborhood buffers.

The only 9 trees coming down that would be considered a real neighborhood barrier are in the northbound lanes by Glendale that sit behind Circular Road near Wildwood Boulevard.

The biggest change people will see are in the median.

A ride down the Anthony Wayne Trail has traditionally included a view of trees both young and old. You won’t see as many between Glendale and the Maumee city line as a reconstruction project gets underway.

“I wish there was a way around not cutting the trees down in the median but being on council for 8 years unfortunately I’ve seen these projects come along and unfortunately trees have to be the sacrifice of good road projects,” said Toledo City Council President Matt Cherry.

As part of this project road crews will be shifting part of the road, taking it down to two lanes and adding a bike path. All of that means a large amount of the trees in the median will be removed. The City says 130 trees in the median will be removed. Just about all the trees lining the neighborhoods will stay.

“We’re not going to see many trees eliminated from those edges so they’ll still create great buffer zones for the neighborhoods,” said Cherry.

Cherry knows it’s not ideal and not all neighbors will be happy. He says the city will host a neighborhood meeting in the future to spell out exactly what’s coming and most importantly what’s staying.

“I think we’re doing a bad job of telling the story. If we tell the residents of South Toledo and others what really the end game looks like I think it’s a little easier pill to swallow,” said Cherry.

Tuesday evening Toledo City Council voted to spent $2.8 million on the project to match the roughly $11 million in state and federal funding. The bid will go out immediately because city officials say the southbound portion needs to be done by November 1.

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