Dozens of Silver Creek Road Trees Spared the Axe

After a single Silver Creek Road resident filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) about the frequency of power outages in the area, PPL decided to take drastic action in order to keep its power lines near the rural thoroughfare clear of trees, Lower Saucon Township Council Vice President Tom Maxfield said May 1.

Last month it was learned that the power company had earmarked about 70 large trees along Silver Creek Road for removal, and it was only because of a last minute intervention by township officials that the company ultimately "deselected" about 45 of those trees, Maxfield said.

"They (PPL) will continue to pursue the policy of getting as much as they can get," Maxfield said, adding that "it took a while" to convince PPL officials to back away from their original cutting plan.

Township officials argued that Silver Creek Road is a "scenic route" that's part of a watershed area, and told PPL some of the trees that were marked for removal "are nowhere near the lines," Maxfield said.

Township Manager Jack Cahalan said that in the wake of recent storms that caused crippling power outages in the area, PPL decided to reroute part of a power line that's "cross-country" between Polk Valley and Silver Creek roads.

The rerouted section will be parallel to a section of Silver Creek Road near its eastern terminus at Lower Saucon Road, which will make it more accessible to power crews, Cahalan said.

Maxfield reiterated his desire for the township to adopt a stringent tree-cutting policy along the lines of what he said the City of Bethlehem has in place.