Why was Northwestern Parkway torn up again after repaving? Someone had to speak for the trees.

A letter to the editor landed in my inbox from Louisville resident Mike Garvey. Looking for answers, he wrote: “Recently, Northwestern Parkway east of Shawnee Golf Course received a long needed repaving. Now, just a few months later the street has been torn up to replace a water line. I had not heard about any broken lines or leaks in the area … I would love to know why the water main work couldn’t be done prior to the repaving.”

I was curious about this, too. So, I started asking questions and Mr. Garvey was right, there wasn’t a leak or a water main break. According to Kelley Dearing Smith, with Louisville Water Company, it was simply time to replace a pipe that had been in the ground since 1936. The repair was planned and scheduled.

Why didn't Louisville Water Company coordinate with the city?

The short answer is Louisville Water didn’t talk to the right people in the right department soon enough to make sure their plan for the water main replacement was solid. But there’s more to the story and it matters for West End residents.

Let’s walk through what happened.

Smith at Louisville Water assured me on the phone that they do compare the city’s plan with their maintenance schedule with the intent of working together and minimizing costs. She said “When we see a conflict … we talk about the timing and how we can partner on the paving.”

However, Salvador Melendez with Louisville Metro Public Works and Assets told me that when they sent the paving list for this fiscal year to utility companies, “None of the utilities reported conflicts with the planned Northwestern Parkway project.” The repaving project moved forward as planned and was completed in September. Meanwhile, Louisville Water hadn’t yet confirmed their plan with the right people.

Shawnee Park and Golf Course had a say

Northwestern Parkway is part of the park system that was originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. He created a system of parks connected to tree-lined parkways, instead of freestanding parks. It's part of what makes Louisville's parks so wonderful.

Louisville Water's original plan didn't involve putting the water pipe in the road. They wanted to place the upgraded water main line alongside the road on the golf course side. By the time Louisville Water sent Metro Parks their proposal it was November. The city had already given the Parkway a shiny new coat of asphalt for its much-needed repaving.

What Louisville water failed to anticipate was that Metro Parks would deny their park-side proposal. But that’s what happened. The water main had to go in the road.

Not all parks are treated equal. Some have long been neglected.

Metro Parks speaks for the trees

Had the water company communicated with the parks department about their plan early on they would have learned what I learned when I heard from Jon Reiter with Metro Parks via email. He said, “their proposal would have removed two rows of old growth trees along the roadway, which we couldn’t support.”

The Courier Journal reported in September that Louisville Parks and Recreation received a $12 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service to help improve Louisville's urban tree canopy in underserved neighborhoods. Trees bring more than beauty to the community. They are important for beating the heat during increasingly hot summers and for improving air quality by filtering out pollution. Trees also help mitigate rainwater and minimize the damage of storm water runoff.

The grant funding received will support tree plantings, focusing on designated communities, and you guessed it, Shawnee is one of those communities. It would make no sense to allow a project that directly jeopardized mature trees in one of Louisville's most environmentally vulnerable neighborhoods. Part of improving our city’s urban tree canopy is protecting the trees that are already doing the environmental work. “It is paramount to protect mature trees,” said Matt Spalding, Olmsted Parks Conservancy Director of Stewardship, “especially in West Louisville where there is significantly less tree canopy than other areas of the city.”

Paving projects should be better coordinated

Louisville Water completed the water main installation in December and Northwestern Parkway, which was newly repaved in September, will get patched up once again in the spring. Until then, the orange cones will remain.

Could this project have been better coordinated to minimize cost as well as inconvenience for the Shawnee neighborhood? Absolutely. And hopefully Louisville Water will not overlook the value of timely communication with all parties involved in the future. But Metro Parks was right to deny the original plans for this project. They speak for the trees, and together with Olmsted Parks Conservancy, they remain good stewards for Louisville’s historic greenspaces.

What questions do you have about things happening around Louisville? Submit a letter to the editor.

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp is the opinion editor for The Louisville Courier Journal. She can be reached via email at BFeldkamp@Gannett.com or on social media @WriterBonnie.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Northwestern Parkway repaving saved Shawnee trees – but at what cost?