A 2,000-foot-long project that includes a new water main, fire hydrants, sidewalk, handicapped-accessible ramps, permeable paving stones, more than 70 trees, and a traffic-calming center island took center stage on Wednesday, June 15, in Kennett Square.
Approximately 30 officials, including all three Chester County commissioners, gathered in front of Victory at Magnolia to celebrate the West Cypress Street improvements, designed to enhance the borough’s ambience and walkability.
Borough Manager Joseph Scalise said the project took less than a year to complete. Crews, which had to take three to four months off for weather-related reasons, began the work last July. The project’s cost, including design, engineering and construction, totaled $1.4 million, $956,000 of which was funded through a county grant. The remaining $444,000 will be paid through the water fund, general fund, and liquid fuels tax, Scalise said.
“It’s a very appropriate place,” said Chester County Commissioners’ Chairman Terence Farrell, referencing the Victory Brewing Company location for the official ribbon-cutting. “Kennett really is on the path to victory. It’s a destination place for restaurants, shopping, and festivals and it sits within, as many of you know, the fourth happiest county in the nation alongside the safest city in the state [Kennett Township] and the best botanical garden in the United States [Longwood Gardens].”
Commissioner Kathi Cozzone said that the improvements add to the ongoing revitalization efforts and benefit the community, and Commissioner Michelle Kichline pointed out that the borough has received $3.76 million from the county since 2002.
Amid some residents’ concerns about the trees and their placement, borough officials have said that they were selected for their size, form, hardiness, and flowering or foliage attributes and would not exceed 30 feet in height to avoid contact with overhead wires. The species include Cumulus Serviceberry, Yellowwood, Arnold Pink Mountain Silverbell, Higan Cherry and Kwanzan Cherry.
Spacing of the trees, which will eventually vary in width from 15 to 40 feet, depended on the variety and followed industry guidelines for urban street tree planting, officials said. To prevent the roots from displacing pavement, the trees were planted in structural soil, which has voids to hold organic matter and water and allow for root passage. The roots will only displace pavement if they cannot access water or air or there is not room for them to grow, officials said.
One element that has yet to be added is a gateway sign. Scalise said its addition would depend on the budget. And although he said he would like to see the sign go up this year, it may have to wait until 2017.
Borough Council President Danilo P. Maffei thanked the commissioners for their support. He said the feedback has been primarily positive, and he noted that one detail, the Yellowwood tree that occupies the narrow island near Mill Street, has garnered the most attention. Added as a traffic-calming device, it has been dubbed the Victory tree and was even the subject of a poem posted on social media by Borough Councilman Doug Doerfler.
It begins:
“I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as the Victory tree.
A tree whose thirsty mouth is near
To the pub with food and beer.”
But Doerfler insisted he didn’t deserve credit for his tongue-in-cheek creation. He simply tweaked “Trees” by the late poet Joyce Kilmer to give the rhyme some Kennett humor, concluding:
“Facebook comments are made by fools like me,
But only God can make the Victory tree.”
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