Residents Say Project To Beautify Lawrence "Stinks"

LAWRENCE (CBS) - The city of Lawrence is building its version of the famed emerald necklace of Boston. But one neighborhood is complaining the project "stinks".

Residents along Maple Street say there's a constant stench coming from huge piles of dirt suddenly dumped in the neighborhood three weeks ago as a temporary staging area for the project that will beautify the nearby Spicket River, create walkways and connect parks.

"In the morning it smells. It's really disgusting to look at," said resident Richard Compagnone. "It took us a long time to find out what was going on," he said.

Planners with the organization behind the project, GroundWork Lawrence, say the dirt is top soil that's being cleared containing no hazardous materials.

WBZ-TV's Beth Germano reports

"It's six to eight inches of soil along the greenway that's part of clearing and grubbing," said Brad Buscher, project manager. "We're in a tight urban condition. It's (the neighborhood) centrally located along the 2.5 mile greenway we're building," he said.

Planners say look into the future, not at a temporary inconvenience. But the residents are looking at bits of tar and cement, and worry the piles are already attracting other kinds of trash in the neighborhood they've labored to clean up.

"When it comes to this give us a break, we have to live here," said Compagnone. Project mangers admit they could have a done a better job of notifying residents the piles were coming, but insist they'll limit the size and scope of the dirt.

"Once we've moved to later phases we hope we don't have to use the site anymore," said Buscher.

The nine year project is expected to be completed by June 2012 paid for largely with state and federal grants. Few are disputing it's a much needed makeover for the river, the neighbors just wish they didn't have to live through it.

"There's plenty of open space around. They've spoiled a nice field," said Compagnone.