NW Bend neighbors upset by sudden removal of trees; city apologizes

Water line project underway in area leaves residents frustrated

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- People living near Drake Park in downtown Bend are upset after several trees were suddenly cut down. On Friday, the city apologized.

Community members woke up Thursday morning -- Earth Day, as it turns out -- to find the trees in their neighborhood being cut down. The city of Bend is replacing aging water lines along the Newport Avenue corridor and nearby streets to reduce water leaking into the river and improve water quality.

But neighbors say they were not told specific details about the project, or that more than a dozen shade and fruit trees in their neighborhood were going to be removed in recent days.

Resident Catherine Cummings says she knew about the project, but she didn't think they had anything to be concerned about.

"It always seems like we're a little bit blind-sided, and that we're always scrambling from behind to try and catch up," she told NewsChannel 21 on Friday. "And trying to figure out what's going on."

Others who live in the area say the trees added value to the neighborhood -- and are angry they're gone.

"It's very upsetting, because your neighborhood is never the same," said M.E. Deckelmann.

The trees that were cut down are along Nashville Avenue, a path that leads to Drake Park. Project engineers say they followed protocol for informing the community. They hosted an open house and sent flyers to homeowners in the affected area. The city gave notice about the project in March of 2020.

While the engineers on the project say they feel they conveyed their plans effectively, they still went door-to-door Friday morning, apologizing to neighbors for not communicating their plans well enough.

Ryan Oster, the city's engineering director, says they did their best to inform the community on the project plans, but that sometimes there are miscommunications.

"Obviously in this case it didn't get relayed in the way it needed to be. So we apologize for that," he said.

Work on the project will last for two years.