Timber! Trees Targeted for Removal in Little Silver

The sound of a gunning chainsaw should be filling the air in certain Little Silver neighborhoods this month as 14 borough-owned trees in "dangerous condition" are slated for removal, according to Linda Goff, chairperson for the borough's Shade Tree Commission.

"These trees are really dangerous," Goff said at the Sept. 10 Little Silver Borough Council meeting, "especially with storm season approaching."

The outgoing trees are located as follows:

• North Lovett Avenue
• Rumson Road (near Rustic Terrace)
• Silverside Avenue (near Bernard Terrace)

A few trees will also be pruned along Little Silver Parkway, said Goff.

The borough-owned trees are either diseased, dead or growing into overhead wires. When North Lovett was widened some years ago, Goff said construction crews simply hacked into the roots of the Silver Maples lining the street, which weakened the trees over time.

With all of the wires crisscrossing overhead throughout town, Little Silver "is not a street tree town," said Goff.

She told the council that the commission had been monitoring the trees for "several years, but hadn't had the money for removal."

The shade tree commission hopes to replace the trees, where it makes sense, next year, but for now, "We're all out of money," said Goff.