For this week’s Sunday Issue, we invite you to “Sound Off” on the shrubbery framing Meadville’s Diamond Park. For the sake of safety, beauty and park privacy, are these bushes worth keeping (with some proper maintenance required; or are they simply a nuisance and it’s time to get out the ax and do away with them.

By Mary Spicer

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

The hedges along the north and south ends of Diamond Park block the view of the park and collect garbage, City Manager Joe Chriest told members of Meadville City Council during their recent study session. While he and the city’s development manager, Rick Williams, agree that removal is the best solution, Chriest continued, before taking chain saws to the offending shrubbery, they wanted to give council members a heads-up.

Within minutes, all three members present had given the project a firm thumbs-down.

“I would like to see them stay,” Councilmember Leroy Stearns said, noting that the hedges shelter people in the park from the hustle-bustle of the nearby streets.

Councilmember Christopher Soff agreed, adding that he believes the hedges offer some sort of protection for park users, keeping balls and kids from the street.

Saying she agreed with Chriest and Williams that the park would look better without the hedges, Councilmember Cheryl Burkey nonetheless voted with Stearns and Soff. “I understand their safety concerns,” she said.

Neither Mayor Richard Friedberg nor Councilmember Jason Amory attended the meeting.

Business as usual?

Although the plan to remove the hedges may be dead, the problems that gave rise to the suggestion remain.

Blowing trash constantly getting caught up in the hedges and the considerable amount of work it takes to keep the hedges trimmed and mulched are the primary issues, Williams explained Friday. “We looked at it as a savings of expenses,” he said, noting that they were considering replacing the hedges with grass and maybe a couple of shrubs.

The yew hedge on the south end of the park, facing Chestnut Street, is full of bare spots and brown needles. From up close, bare limbs fill the interior portion of the plant, providing a sheltered gathering area for litter.