ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Residents who live on Ramsey Place in Albany say they are fighting to put the brakes on a road project that would cut down more than a dozen trees, some of which are more than 100 years old.

Ed Vining is one of many Ramsey Place residents who have been fighting the storm water project, which is expected to lessen routine flooding downhill on Hackett Boulevard.

“They could use porous asphalt or permeable concrete on this street, and it would certainly do the job,” he said.

The city plans to narrow the roadway by six feet, replace lead pipes, and add an edging of porous asphalt to store about 200,000 gallons of storm water. But for that to be done, about a dozen trees have to go.

Water Department Commissioner Joe Coffey says the trees will be replaced with new ones. He says the $2.4 million project paid in-part by a state grant is just the first wave of other similar projects.

“You know that little story about if you want to build a cathedral, you’ve got to build the walls first. And to build the walls, you’ve got to lay the brick one at a time,” he said.

Some neighbors, like Laura Duffy, want the trees outside her home cut down. She says the roots have grown into old pipes and cause sewage backups in her basement. She added that her trees have been slowly dying anyway.

“I don’t think I’ll miss these trees. I will miss other trees on this street,” she said.

The project is expected to begin in the next couple of days.