A new gravel operation has been proposed on land that is currently a farm on Cleveland Road in Dalton. If you know Cleveland Road. then you will agree it’s a beautiful, bucolic, residential and agricultural setting and not the place for an industrial gravel mining operation. It is important that the public of Dalton be aware of what another gravel operation in town means.

The proposal calls for mining 600,000 yards of gravel over five years. To achieve these numbers, tractor-trailer trucks (18 wheelers) will be employed to haul gravel over Cleveland Road and through the main streets of Dalton at a minimum rate of one truck every 10 minutes. The impact of additional traffic in neighborhoods like Cleveland Road, Johnson Road, or even Park Ave. would be notable and intrusive.

Cleveland Road is a destination for walkers, runners, cyclists and families with strollers who enjoy the road for its quiet, rural atmosphere. Virtually all the open space on and around Cleveland Road is protected by the state and used for farming and agricultural purposes. Such businesses as the Organic Garden and CSA at Holiday Farm call Cleveland Road home. Such an invasive operation means a traffic situation that will monopolize Cleveland Road for the duration of the mining operation, as the street will be rendered too dangerous and unduly impair pedestrian safety.

What do the town and its residents stand to gain? The town will not make any additional revenue from this business, nor will it create any new jobs. Simply put, the owner of the land is the sole benefactor at the expense of the many residents of Dalton who will suffer the byproducts of such a large Industrial gravel mining operation in a residential setting. Many will reason that people have a right to operate a business and gravel is a scarce and necessary material for the building industry. We agree.

However, there are good places and bad places for such operations. Cities and towns across the country establish zoning requirements and bylaws to ensure public safety is not threatened by such endeavors. A gravel mining operation on Cleveland Road is not “essential or desirable to the public convenience or welfare at the proposed location.”

Please voice your opposition to this proposal by writing a letter to the Dalton Planning Board or attending the public hearing tonight at 7 p. m. at Dalton Town hall.

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