On a recent beautiful Monday morning I was slowly jogging along the bike path between Bardwell Street and Bridge Road. Along the way I encountered other joggers, moms with babies, walkers, cyclists, and … a thunderous Department of Public Works mowing machine. Finding nothing to mow on this stretch, it nevertheless lumbered like a small tank all the way to Bridge Road, turned around, and passed me again.
On my return from Bridge Road, I caught up with it east of Bardwell (behind the casket factory) where it apparently found grass and wildflowers to devour. Another DPW employee wielding a gas-powered leaf blower (banned in many progressive communities) was walking steadily into a huge dust cloud of his own making, endangering both his hearing and his lungs. The dust cloud, magnified by the drought, blew toward nearby residential neighborhoods.
It is certainly time for Northampton to overhaul its vehicle fleet, street projects, and landscape maintenance to reflect the urgent demands of climate change, public health and fiscal efficiency.
Rutherford H. Platt
Florence