By Clay Moffitt

December 12, 2006 | LOGAN -- About two months ago, Mayor Randy Watts agreed in City Council to conduct a study to decide if the Canyon Road expansion could be accomplished without uprooting trees on certain residences along the road. Now the study is just about complete and things are looking pretty optimistic for arboreal enthusiasts.

"The only question is really about one tree," Watts said. "It's looking like only one tree is going to be taken out."

The most vocal defender of the trees was Canyon Road resident Larry Cannon. He and his wife, Helen, have lived on the road for more than 40 years with the trees being a major component of their property, and they wouldn't let them go without a fight.

To protest during the fall, Cannon stood in front of his house holding a sign that read, "Enjoy the trees? Tell the mayor." On Sunday, Oct. 15, the local paper, The Herald Journal, ran a color picture of him holding the sign on its front page. Apparently enough people saw the sign and let the mayor know, and he addressed the tree issue in city council the following Tuesday.

Watts said he thinks the one tree that will be cut down is located on Mark Lunt's property, but he's not sure how the Cannons will react to that even though they will get to keep the trees on their property. "At first Larry and Helen were saying any tree was too many trees," Watts said.

However, in October, Cannon told the Hard News Café he understood the street development was a necessary process, he just wanted it done in a way that would preserve the trees.

Watts emphasized in the end, the residents of Cache Valley will appreciate new layout of the street. "It's really going to help as far as flow on Canyon Road," he said.

The official results of the study won't be released until the noise study is finished also, which Watts said he believes will be in the next two to three weeks. He also projected the construction of the project will be complete sometime in the middle of the summer.

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