Plenty of cities have paved over paradise to put up parking lots. To its credit, Lebanon is thinking about doing the reverse.
As our colleague Darren Marcy reported earlier this month, the city will be soliciting ideas from design firms for redeveloping a 2.9-acre parcel of city-owned land between City Hall and the Mascoma River that is currently paved over and used — yes — as a two-level parking lot, divided by a retaining wall. The city has articulated multiple goals for this proposed redevelopment that are intended to serve as a framework for a conceptual revisioning of the area.
Certainly the highest priority should be assigned to creating green space and access to the currently underutilized and undervalued Mascoma River frontage at the north end of the parcel. It is largely hidden from view at present, which is a shame, because it could be a civic asset of the highest value.
We also urge firms that respond to the city’s “request for expressions of interest” to incorporate another natural and complementary element in their proposals — abundant trees, of which some nice specimens already dot the area. We hope the winning concept will incorporate many more, for both practical and aesthetic reasons. The practical advantages are obvious: Trees play a big role in capturing carbon amid a warming climate, help to cool urban environments and contribute to better air quality. Moreover, the Inflation Reduction Act recently enacted by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Biden sets aside $1.5 billion for urban and community forestry initiatives, so it is reasonable to assume that federal money will be available for projects that incorporate significant tree planting.
And let them be a diverse mix of trees native to New England. In his 1858 plan for the development of Central Park in New York City, Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s preeminent landscape architect, proposed “an arboretum of American trees, so that every one who wishes to do so may become acquainted with the trees and shrubs that will flourish in the open air in the northern and middle sections of our country.” He further urged that some be planted far enough apart to allow them to attain their “fullest size and unrestricted expanse of branches” to permit park-goers to fully appreciate the native species.
Olmsted, of course, was painting on a much larger canvas than the Lebanon parcel, but we wonder if his inspiration might be profitably adapted.
As to aesthetics, we hardly need to point out that cities with tree-lined streets and abundant tree canopy in their parks have a visual appeal that is all but irresistible. For instance, a recent travel article in The New York Times celebrated the trees of Paris and detailed the city’s ambitious efforts to preserve existing specimens while planting 170,000 new trees by 2026. The writer described some remarkable specimens as “natural free-standing monuments equal in importance to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower,” and said she came to understand that the city’s trees “play an underappreciated supporting role in Paris’ inimitable elegance and grandeur.”
Thoughtful planting and cultivation of trees can create a legacy that far outlasts the generation that plants them. Lebanon is now a city of 14,000 residents that grows to 40,000 during the day as a result of its role as an employment, shopping and services hub. It will almost certainly continue to grow, and as it does, the need to create and preserve tree-lined green spaces while taking advantage of the river’s presence will only grow along with it. Designers and city officials who make the most of the opportunity now presented will leave behind a living monument to their wise stewardship.