Date: 10/5/2022
A few months ago, I drove through the intersection of Wilbraham Road and Bradley Road, and was shocked to see a major construction project taking place.
At first, I presumed this was an expansion of Western New England University’s footprint, but as the work continued, it became clear that Eversource had undertaken a massive expansion of its power station.
Count this writer among those who never realized a power station existed at this location. The facility, which appears to have been in place since the 1950s, always had mature trees surrounding it.
This wasn’t the result of a city mandate – rather, a combination of sound planning and common sense culminated in a power station that met the needs of the electrical company and the neighborhood.
Fast forward to 2022, and once again, Eversource has shown that sound planning and common sense are values hard to come by these days.
The city, without special permit conditions requiring the trees stay up, and the trees themselves lacking the mature tree status, had limited options. I’d like to think a company that owed tens of millions in back taxes wouldn’t have been given a green light without more thought, however.
Those trees are now lost, which represents a major loss in character to the neighborhood. The City Council should pursue legislation that would require innovative screening around power stations to give these industrial properties a 21st century look that respects the quality of life in our neighborhoods.
Juan (Jay) F. Latorre III
Springfield
