Downtown Trees Getting Cut Down And Replaced

A group of downtown trees is scheduled for the chopping block, and that has some people wondering what's going on. They're in front of the former city hall building at 4th and Cincinnati. There

Monday, June 4th 2007, 10:04 am

By: News On 6

A group of downtown trees is scheduled for the chopping block, and that has some people wondering what's going on. They're in front of the former city hall building at 4th and Cincinnati. There are a lot of tree fans out there, especially downtown, where the greenery is harder to come by, but officials say fear not. The News On 6â€™s Steve Berg reports they say the space will not be tree free for long.

It's the Xâ€™s that vexes the typical tree protector. Once they appear, that tree cutting is not far behind.

"Cutting down trees is always a very difficult thing to do, and it's a very unpopular thing," said Joe Howell.

Howell, a landscape architect, was hired to redesign the area for the Centennial Walk, a Vision 2025 beautification project to create a pedestrian friendly attraction downtown. To the untrained eye, the trees look like healthy trees. But he says a closer look reveals missing leaves on many of the smaller branches, and he says the leaves have a yellowish hue, another sign of trouble.

"These trees again are growing in an urban situation, which causes them to suffer from compacted soil and just never reach their full potential," Howell said.

Compacted soil provides a good foundation for sidewalks, but it's very tough on trees, which can't get the water, the nutrients, or the room they need. Fortunately, soil design has come a long way. So-called structural soil is firm enough for sidewalks but porous enough that water and air and roots can get through.

"So the roots can grow out into that soil and not cause the sidewalk to heave and still get air, which is really essential to roots," said Howell.

And good news for tree fans, they'll be replacing the trees they cut down with new trees with the new soil design.

"They're very large trees starting out. They're about 6-inch caliper trees, and they'll be in the neighborhood of 14 to 16 foot tall, so they'll be very substantial," Howell said.

Howell estimates the trees at old city hall are about 40 years old, which he says is very old for an urban tree. He says the sidewalk renovations and the new trees should be in place in about a year.

Watch the video: Downtown Trees On The Chopping Block