ATTLEBORO RIVERWALK
Seeing the Trees Through Former Urban Blight
BY DON DOUCETTE
When is it never too late to reconsider a questionable move?
Yesterday (Friday) was such a beautiful day with bright sunshine and blue sky with stately fair-weather clouds and a far cry better than the usual boring gray-blah winter days of late.
So… we took our afternoon coffee to go, curb parked at Riverfront Park in Attleboro, slid opened the sunroof and soaked in the rare winter warmth, played some good music and peacefully sipped our hot coffee brew. At that moment, we were indeed living in the lap of luxury.
A small City truck slowly passed on the access road – two men tending the string of park rubbish barrels. Efficient with intent, they performed their appointed tasks and a personal thought at that moment, that the general public for the most part had placed this trash where it belonged and that these two gentlemen were properly dealing with the contained litter thereof – of which was professionally hauled away and rather not, haphazardly strewn along the banks of the Ten Mile River – overall, one for the plus side.
It’s so good to see the river property between Wall Street and Olive Street put to some right after so many years of abuse as the Ten Mile River yesterday smartly flowed and sparkled in the bright sunshine.
And the best quality of Riverfront Park at this moment is that the ugly former city dump has been eliminated (at great expense.) And that the linear Riverfront Woodland yet exists on borrowed time beside the commuter car park – large mature trees slated for the chopping block.
These trees are a living testimonial witness for much of Attleboro’s industrial heritage – born toward maturity during this time and yet providing presently a three-dimensional gallery forest quality to the actual existence of Riverfront Park. Sadly, when these trees are gone, Riverfront Park will lose a portion of its shine and be reduced more closely to the realm of two dimensional lackluster. Some breath will go out of the City of Attleboro and the Ten Mile River Watershed will hurt.
Why can’t this property better serve and be put to alternative recreational showcased public use?
Is it not too late to reconsider the life status of this rare and stately urban forest?
Don Doucette
“Ten Mile River Rambles”