The DPW war on trees continues. Remember those 35 trees removed for sidewalk reconstruction on Adams Street?
There is now a similar request to remove “approximately 33 trees” on a stretch of Beacon Street in Waban for sidewalk reconstruction. One example is pictured at left; the rest of the offending trunk photos provided by DPW are in this document. Based on the photos, these appear to be a combination of before-the-fact and after-the-fact. In cases where new curbs and/or sidewalk has already been installed, the damage to the tree’s roots may already be fatal. (We have a long history of trees dying about five years after new sidewalks are installed.) At the other extreme, there are photos where one wonders why we’d even be spending money to fix not-particularly-bad sidewalks, or whether the homeowner has been asked if they’d be willing to have the new sidewalk curve into their front yard to preserve the tree (as has been done in some other locations).
DPW is also now requesting to remove an additional 12 trees on Adams Street — I haven’t checked yet, but this is probably 
most if not all of the trees remaining between Watertown and Washington Streets. Addresses and trunk/sidewalk photos are here.
We might as well be letting Deb Crossley loose with a chainsaw, since DPW seems to be following her expressed desire to get rid of all the trees that are interfering with sidewalks.
Maybe it’s just me, but I think the pursuit of perfect curbs and perfect sidewalks at the expense of our already dwindling number of street trees is misguided. In aiming for perfect sidewalks, we’ll be losing the environmental benefits of storm water retention, and shade that reduces the heat island effect and makes walking in summer inviting instead of unpleasant.
Our street tree population is down to about 20,000, when it was once double that. Despite the combined efforts of the city and the Newton Tree Conservancy plantings, we’re still not close to replacing street trees at the rate we’re losing them from normal removals due to death, decline, and risk condition, plus casualties of storms and vehicle hits. DPW has not indicated that they will replace the caliper inches already removed for their projects to date. And even when they do “pay for” replacements, it’s still taxpayer money, and it’s unclear to me whether the replacement trees are really in addition to what Forestry would have planted anyway. And I don’t know how many people who voted for the override looking forward to new street and sidewalks, knew that some of that money was going to pay for cutting down healthy trees and then, maybe, partially, replacing them with new trees.
But wait, there’s more. There’s another five trees, including a 28″ diameter oak, DPW is requesting be removed for intersection “improvements” at Dedham/Carlson/Nahanton Streets. This gives me a sense of deja-vu, having seen a mature linden and ash tree removed for the Comm Ave/Lexington Street reconfiguration (the success of which is I think yet to be determined).
And that’s still not all: 22″ and 24″ maples will on Parkview Ave will need to be removed in connection with the Cabot School project. At least with school projects, we’ve been getting all the caliper inches replaced.
And finally, another street tree removal request for a teardown-related driveway expansion on Harwich Road.
The complete list, with hearing dates where scheduled (dates by which any objections must be received in writing) is here. This will be a ‘new business’ item at tomorrow morning’s Urban Tree Commission meeting, Friday, May 19, 7:45AM in City Hall room 205.
I wish they mentioned what kind of maple is each tree to be removed, it only says “Maple”. For God’s sake, this is a tree commission meeting. There’s a difference between Norway maples and native maple species. There’s also no mention of any replacement plan, but that is perhaps in a different document?
I haven’t had a chance to look at them yet, but most are probably Norway maples. That’s what 78% of our street trees were estimated to be, the last time a tree inventory was done.
No info yet on replacement plan. See my earlier Adams St post. There, they will plant more trees than have been removed, but far fewer caliper inches. And caliper inches, being a one-dimensional measurement, greatly understate the impact of a three-dimensional tree.
I love trees and hate it when they’re cut down. But there’s also a clamor to repair the sidewalks damaged by the roots of Norway maples. I’m not sure what the solution is, but it’s very clear that if a sidewalk is to be replaced, then the tree needs to go. So it appears to be a question of priorities and residents are likely to come down on one side or the other-keep the trees and sidewalks in disrepair, or cut the trees down and repair the sidewalks.
Julia,
Consider the downsides of too many trees also
About 4 years ago, this healthy tree on albemarle almost took out an entire house. Looks like tree was far too big for the sidewalk. Here’s a crazy photo of the entire tree lifted from sidewalk
https://goo.gl/images/I1OhJf
Did you get a chance to look at this tree or house at the time this happened?
The downside of too many trees ?
What planet do you live on ?
Thanks Julia!
If the Norway maples get replaced with more suitable street trees, it may be beneficial in the long run. We know now what a mistake it was to plant them in the first place. Nobody wants to deliberately deforest the city, and I want to believe DPW has considered other options.
blueprintbill,
Did you even see the photo link? Thats a pretty scary situation for any homeowner.
Should sidewalk trees be limited to a certain size? Clearly this one was far toooo big
Driving down or walking down Adams St now and it feel like a barren wasteland. Sad.
@Bugek, I don’t remember seeing a tree like that on Albemarle, but I’ve got a lot of photos of similar trees, mostly from Sandy or Irene or other windstorms. Root cutting for concrete sidewalks or granite curbs can increase the risk of the tree toppling like that, depending on what’s left for roots. An asphalt sidewalk is a lot less damaging since it only requires going down a couple of inches. The forms for concrete go a lot deeper.
The tree in your photo link looks like it had a very large root system. If it fell in wind it might have been the canopy being so thick it acted like a sail. Structural pruning to allow for some air flow through a tree can reduce that risk, but there were a lot of trees that didn’t get a lot of pruning beyond removing dead limbs, in the 25 years that we didn’t have a tree crew and the contractor budget didn’t increase with inflation.
Julia, you are a tireless advocate for trees and I really appreciate your efforts. No one does more to protect our trees than you. There is a noticeable loss of tree canopy in Nonantum and it is upsetting to see. (Though a significant number of very large trees were removed by private property owners on Peal Street). Adams Street is just a mess of tangled wires and cement. The improvements and tree replacement can’t come fast enough. I agree we need to double up on our commitment to replace caliper inches and protect and preserve existing trees.
We had a public meeting on the tree removals in Nonantum and most of the residents were agreeable to the plan as long as the trees were replaced.
I think your comment about Councilor Crossley is unfair. I happen to know she likes trees.
Yes, I saw Deb Crossley love of trees up close a few weeks back.
She was working on the Upper Falls Greenway on NewtonServes day with her hand saw. She was cutting massive Asian bittersweet vines in an effort to save the trees down behind Avalon, many of which had already succumbed to those nasty vines.
I hate to see a tree get cut down, but I don’t think that the desire for perfect sidewalks is simply an aesthetic desire. There are a lot of very dangerous sidewalks throughout the city. I see people in wheelchairs on the streets instead of the sidewalks because the sidewalks are so unfriendly to wheels. I remember when I was still pushing strollers having serious issues just getting off my own street. I think having safe, usable sidewalks should be a priority in our community. I don’t like that this is at the expense of trees, but I also don’t want there to be injuries and fatalities because wheelchair users are in the streets because our sidewalks are in poor condition.
We can’t talk about walkable villages if we don’t rebuild sidewalks upended with the roots of Norway maples. I live within a mile of Waban village and Four Corners but the sidewalks in either direction are too dangerous for me when one of the doctor’s instructions is “don’t fall”.
No one has a “war on trees”, least of all the DPW or Deb Crossley. I too am happy that we have such advocate for the trees such as you, Julia, but placing blame on one side or the other of two competing priorities doesn’t help matters.
Julia,
Do you have any recommendations for a tree pruning company? The tree in my backyard(recent purchase) is probably 80 years+ old, I hear stories of bad pruning killing trees.
It is always a little sad to remove a mature, healthy street tree, regardless of the reason. And Julia Malakie has done a great job raising awareness on the loss of street trees from removal, damage or disease.
That being said, sidewalk repair or replacement is not just an aesthetic concern. While an able-bodied person may trip on a sidewalk damages by tree roots, for those with mobility impairments, seniors, and others, a damaged or non-existent sidewalk impedes or deprives accessibility (a violation of regulations promulgated under the ADA relating to public facilities, which include public sidewalks). For school routes, damaged or nonexistent sidewalks represent a safety hazard for school children.
I love trees too. But people are more important. Moreover, Marc Welch, Newton’s urban forestry director (i.e., tree warden) requires that street trees that are removed be replaced by the same number of caliper inches. Because replacement trees are smaller, that means for every mature tree removed, the city is getting multiple trees as replacements. That is a good thing in my mind, particularly since many of the street trees are getting closer to the end of their natural lives. The city’s tree planting policy, which emphasizes diversity of species, is also a positive thing for our street tree canopy.
Finally, the swipe at Councilor Crossley was gratuitous and petty, Julia. You should apologize or remove it from your post, or better yet, both.
@Bugek, there are lots of good companies. I wouldn’t want to name some and leave others out. As long as they’ve got a certified arborist supervising the work, you should be okay. You are correct, bad pruning can harm trees, in particular “flush cuts” that cut a branch flush with the trunk, removing the branch collar, which makes it hard for the tree to seal over the wound, or pruning too much canopy off at once.
An update from this morning’s Urban Tree Commission meeting:
The residents on Beacon who will be losing trees were all left notices by DPW of what would happen, and that the trees will be posted for hearings (as required under state law). Of four people who contacted Marc Welch (even though the notice said to contact DPW), no one complained about their tree going, and at least one did not want a new tree. DPW will keep track of the responses they get.
There may be more than 33 trees involved. There are addresses where DPW sent Marc one picture but there might be three trees. Marc asked if they were going to want all three removed or just the one in the picture, and they weren’t sure, so they’re going to look at them together.
Other members of the Urban Tree Commission also wonder if an effort could be made to save some of the non-Norway maples — apparently there are a couple of red maples among those ‘maples’ — and particularly the London plane trees.
There would be no point in saving the ash on Beacon St, on the other hand, because all our ash trees will be dying or dead I’m guessing in about 10 years from Emerald Ash Borer unless they are treated, and the city won’t be treating city trees. EAB is already known to be in Newton Corner (somewhere near Hunnewell Playground, and an infested tree at Newton Country Day School), Newtonville (Washington Park dead tree last summer), and Newton Centre, across from Mason-Rice. (So if you’ve got your own ash tree that you care about keeping, it’s probably time to think about treating.)
The question is whether it’s better to only do concrete sidewalks, or preserve more trees by doing asphalt sidewalks, which will also be ADA-compliant, but need more frequent repair/resurfacing. DPW has presumably concluded that it’s more cost effective to do concrete. If that’s what’s going to be done, I’d like those savings to be applied to at least fully replacing the caliper inches being lost.
As we also discussed at this morning’s meeting, there are probably about 30,000-35,000 street tree spots. We’ll never have 40,000 street trees again, because we don’t do things like plant a tree five feet from a utility pole anymore, we want to stay five feet away from underground utilities, 10 feet from storm drains, etc, and all those double wide driveways being built with teardowns are eating up berm space as well as green space in yards. All of which means fewer plantable spots. Marc thinks we’ll probably still be at about 20,000 existing street trees when he does a new count this summer (though I’m not sure if that will be before or after the next risk tree survey). Even though we’re losing more than are being officially planted, some people are putting in trees on their own, and if it looks like a tree, even if it’s a weed Norway maple that someone moved to their berm, it’ll get counted.
“Maybe it’s just me, but I think the pursuit of perfect curbs and perfect sidewalks at the expense of our already dwindling number of street trees is misguided.”
As much as I like trees along our streets, having sidewalks that allow access to all and keep walkers safe are much more important, not misguided.
My older brother is disabled. Different town, same problem. Sometimes he has to go in the street because the sidewalk is a mess of roots and broken concrete.
The picture showing the tree in the middle of the sidewalk is a perfect example of the problem encountered by people – in a wheelchair, with a baby stroller, on crutches, in a boot because of a broken appendage, blind with or without a service dog, or a mother/father walking with a toddler(s). Of course we want trees – we love trees but we also love people. Its all about balance. When a tree can be saved that doesn’t impede people’s way – it should be saved. But if the tree forces people into the street, especially those with limited mobility for whom going into the street would be difficult to manage as well as unsafe – it has to go.