WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) — A $37 million drainage project underway on Bleckley Drive in the Crown Heights neighborhood since June has divided residents — not over flooding itself, but over what the construction might cost them in trees, shade and neighborhood character.

Longtime resident Charles Harris, who has lived on Bleckley since 1979, pointed to the mature elms lining the street and said they are irreplaceable.

“That elm has probably been here since the 1937 time frame,” he said.

Harris said that during decades of living there — including the historic flooding this past June — the water has never reached porch or yard level. He argued that while flooding occurs, it “never gets up into the houses” and “goes up fast and it goes down fast.”

“Houses are not affected. These houses all bui

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