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Emmaus streets may lose their flowering pear trees

EMMAUS, Pa. - They provide shade and greenery, but 100 flowering Bradford pear trees that line the main thoroughfares in the center of Emmaus are also creating a mess on sidewalks and cars.

EMMAUS, Pa. - They provide shade and greenery, but 100 flowering Bradford pear trees that line the main thoroughfares in the center of Emmaus are also creating a mess on sidewalks and cars.

The problem is the trees bear fruit, which they were not supposed to do when they were planted along Main and Chestnut Streets more than 20 years ago, said Gene Clock, president of the Emmaus Main Street Program. Clock wants them gone by Labor Day.

The Emmaus Shade Tree Commission does not relish the idea of removing so many downtown trees, because its goal is to increase the number of trees in the borough, but agrees that it is necessary, commission spokeswoman Karen Poshefko said. She said the absence of the flowering trees would dramatically change the area's appearance.

"Downtown will look very different without these trees," she said. "People are going to be shocked." - AP