Don’t Cover The Canal

Don’t cover the canal

It is with concern and alarm that I recently learned of the city’s plans to cover the TID ditch that runs near my home.

This intrusive and expensive project (estimated cost: around $4 million) would fundamentally alter the quiet rural character of our Terrace Street neighborhood. Nearly 300 trees lining the canal would be felled, depriving cover for the abundant wildlife of the area including deer, bear, owls and numerous other birds.

There are more affordable and more environmentally conscious solutions to the problems the city cites as reasons for this project. The leaking that accounts for the majority of the water loss could fixed for a fraction of the cost of covering the pipes.

In living 40-plus years on Terrace Street, I have come to greatly value the wilderness corridor along the existing pipes as a sanctuary of of sorts, ideal for walking dogs and humans, and as a place of respite from the increasing construction noise and traffic that disrupt what used to be a quiet country road. I implore the city to do the right thing and be mindful of the considerable negative impacts that this project entails for the neighborhood residents before green-lighting it.

Mike Fitch

Ashland