ELYRIA – The blazing hot sun of summer, the harsh snows of winter, salt, rain runoff from the road and weeds.

The freshly planted rose bushes and perennials along state Route 57 will have a lot to contend with as they struggle to grow from buds to blossoms. And that has led many – including a longtime local landscape designer – to question whether the nice touches might be a waste of the $505,000 in taxpayer dollars that they are costing.

City Engineer Mukund Moghe said particular care was paid in choosing the most durable plants for the thoroughfare. The effort was worth it because Route 57 is one of the city’s main gateways, he said.

“We went through tremendous scrutiny from the state and federal government until deciding on the plants that residents see,” he said. “I’m not an expert in landscaping but was told all the plants used are salt tolerant. I’m not sure what that exactly means. I’m sure if you bury them in salt they will die, but they will withstand some exposure to salt.”

Crews from Down to Earth Landscaping in Garfield Heights have been busy in recent weeks creating beds in the medians and along the outsides of the redone roadway. Down to Earth didn’t choose the plants but provided them based on a project design drawn up by CT Consultants of Willoughby.

And while the beds look pretty – yes, those are rose bushes, a sturdy breed known as Knock Out roses, in the middle of Route 57 in the portion between Broad Street and Chestnut Ridge Road – Marvin Norton, a landscape designer for Pandy’s Premier Garden Center, wonders what they’ll look like in a few years.

Norton, whose company did not bid on the project, has spent 46 years in the landscaping business, and he said he cannot help but question some of the decision making involved with the way the plantings were done.

For example, he said, there are maple trees and sunburst locust trees planted along the roadway with seemingly indiscriminate placement.

“There are trees in front of trees, trees in front of businesses and places where there are no trees at all,” he said. “Between Abbe Road and Gulf Road, there are trees planted next to a thick wooded area by the Ohio Turnpike, but go just a little ways down, and there are no trees at all.”

He also wonders how the cash-strapped city – it has laid off workers and still is facing a deficit and the possibility of even more layoffs before the end of the year – will maintain the plantings, which is essential.

“There is nothing wrong with planting and landscaping,” he said. “That’s my job, so I’m absolutely not against it. Landscaping is a beautiful thing as long as you take care of it. … The median strips look beautiful now, but without proper maintenance, within a few years it will be nothing but a high thistle weed field.”

Thistle weed is an aggressive plant that can grow 15 feet deep into the ground and waist high in height. Its pink flowers with prickly leaves are a dead giveaway that it has taken root. The only way to get rid of it is an aggressive treatment with a chemical weed killer.

On Tuesday, when Norton cruised along Route 57 with a reporter, he pointed out sprouts of thistle weed peeking out of the ground near newly planted trees.

Bill Baker, the project manager for CT Consultants, said the plants weren’t chosen in a vacuum.

Critics, he said, don’t understand how much time and effort went into the project. CT Consultants has been working on the Route 57 project – a $22 million undertaking – since 2005, and the landscaping decisions were not made lightly, he said.

“Everything was reviewed by ODOT, which has guidelines on where plants and trees can be placed along a roadway, and the Federal Highway Administration,” Baker said. “It was at least a six-month process on the landscaping. There was nothing fast about this process. ODOT and Federal Highway review every aspect when it comes to how their money is spent to make sure it is being used properly.”

Baker said plants were chosen that are salt-tolerant. Trees were chosen and placed on the roadway in a way that would not be hazardous to motorists.

Mayor Bill Grace, who had to sign off on everything in regard to the project, said he is surprised residents are raising questions about the landscaping, of all things.

Professional landscapers were called in to do everything from design the plan to pick the flowers, he said.

“I’ve heard a lot of comments from residents, but they are more along the lines of the project looks good and they can’t wait until it is finished,” he said. “When this is complete and when everything has had a chance to settle, I think everyone will see that this will be quite a boost to our community.”

Grace said he is confident in the professionals chosen to work on the project.

“It will be an exciting improvement to our community, an investment paid largely from federal funds that will pay handsome dividends back to the city,” he said.

Norton, however, said he isn’t so sure. He’s convinced the glorious gardens won’t be so pretty in a few years.

While Knock Out roses are hardier than most varieties, they still aren’t likely to fare well alongside a highway, he said.

“It’s OK when Joe Schmoe wastes his money planting whatever he wants, but this project uses taxpayer dollars and it should be done right,” he said.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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