Summit Avenue Planters over Ayd Mill Road Vandalized
(Saint Paul, MN) Sometime
between 8pm on June 22 and 8am on June 23, vandals tipped over and broke the large
planters on the Summit Avenue bridge over Ayd Mill Road. The large concrete
planters were tipped over and crashed on to the cement and several planters were rolled into the street
and the line of traffic with the plants scattered everywhere. Damage is
estimated at several thousand dollars.
The planters are maintained by the Summit Avenue Residential
Preservation Association (SARPA), an all-volunteer group dedicated to the
preservation of the historic, residential, and urban park character of Summit
Avenue. Each year, Ramsey County Master Gardener Marge Hols designs the planters,
and volunteers show up every spring to plant the large pots. SARPA covers all
the costs for the plants in addition to paying the city for watering the
planters on a twice-weekly basis.
Ironically, just last week SARPA kicked off its “Summit
Avenue — A Walking Street” initiative at its annual meeting. The project looks
at Summit Avenue as a linear, urban park, in which thousands come to Summit as
a destination avenue to walk, run and bike in all seasons. Associated with the
“Walking Street” initiative has been a strong focus on traffic calming, and the
Ayd Mill planters have been cited as a good example of passive calming efforts;
cars generally slow down over the overpass when they see the planters.
Two of the seven planters were destroyed, and the remaining
five planters sustained moderate damage. It is unclear whether the plants can
be saved, or if the remaining planters will be structurally sound enough to
hold the plant soil and water.
SARPA also maintains the gardens down at the west end of
Summit Avenue next to the University of St. Thomas campus. Three years ago,
SARPA was called up to replace broken granite benches and arborvitae and other
flowering bushes that had been uprooted by a motorist who crashed his car
following a high-speed chase down Summit.
If anyone has information on the incident at Ayd Mill that
can be shared with police, please contact the SARPA President, Bethany
Gladhill, 612-414-3790, or email info@sarpa.org. If you would like to contribute to cover the
replacement costs of the planters, please go sarpa.org for contact information.
SARPA is a 501 (c)3 nonprofit and all contributions are fully tax-deductible.
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