Brush Cutting on Howard Street, Route 140

Some homeowners on Howard Street are less than thrilled with the mowing that took place on the street recently.

The cutting made with a machine pushed the greenery, including brush and tree branches, back several feet off the road. Initially, piles of dead leaf debris were left behind.

A reader asked Milford Patch why the Milford Highway Department did this, in an email, saying it was unsightly and could end in diseased or dead trees, which would damage property values.

One reader said the cutting entered on to private property, and did not stay on the town's right-of-way.

Similar cutting took place on Route 140, but was conducted by the state Department of Transportation because that is a state road. The cutting on 140 is visible to travelers, and extends from near up to Water Street.

, said most of the cutting on Howard Street was completed with a machine, which allows the town department to get the job done more quickly, with fewer people. The street was one of several that was cut this summer, he said. The branches and growth affect the snow plows in winter, he said, because it prevents plows from pushing the piles off the road. Plows also are losing side mirrors to the growth.

In warmer months, the underbrush prevents people from walking safely down the side of the roads, he said.

"You have to keep the brush a couple of feet off the road," he said. All cutting was done on the right-of-way controlled by the town, he said.

"We do what has to be done."