A 28-inch landmark Burr Oak tree on the lawn extension appears to be dying. Underground utilities and sidewalks were recently installed in this location for the City Place project. [photo]
400 S. Fifth Avenue
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I’m really disturbed to see this. We are having a lot of utilities work done at various locations and the contractors (and city authorities) do not seem to take the requirements of landscape trees into account.
I received an email from an Old West Side resident who noted damage to trees and landscapes due to the DTE work on Seventh. This is another example.
What should be understood is that large trees have a very wide root range (the dripline is the traditional descriptor). If you damage the roots, the tree dies, and decades of growth are lost. They are not easily replaceable, since new saplings will take another several decades to grow.
We should have guidelines in place to protect our street trees. They are part of our urban fabric.
We did once have a Forestry Department. I worked for a company that created a database of every city tree which Bill Lawrence, then City Forester, managed. If something possibly damaging to trees was reported, the Forestry Department would go out and get involved. Now there is no Forestry Department and unavoidable work, such as removing city trees that fall on a house or roadway. There certainly were once guidelines and may still be, but they are of no use if there is no one to report to.
Yes, I remember those golden days when the “Tree City” moniker actually fit. The Fraser reorganization got rid of most of our seasoned professionals. (I don’t know the new folks.)
The City Foresters are still active. You could try contacting them with the issue directly.
I filled out a customer service request at [link] linking to this page.
The City had already been contacted, but thanks for the chuckle, Ed.
But now there is actually a service request ticket open… Harder to accidentally forget to address. ;)
Every time I’ve used that customer request page, it has been promptly taken care of, usually the next day. However, I would imagine that if you make enemies with folks at the City by publicly berating them that your service requests might get “lost”. Best of luck, Tom.
Apologies if it came across that way. My comment was not intended to berate anyone, but merely point out that it can be helpful to have issues electronically tracked. The City Forresters are nice folks in my experiences with them on park tree plantings through Adopt A Park in our neighborhood more recently and ash tree replacements years back.
Here’s the response I got back via the city’s tracking website:
It’s been a dry summer, and I’m sure that other street trees are showing the stress of the heat.
You folks aren’t seeing the upside. The more trees die, the less impact the city’s decision not to pick up leaves will have.And if *all* the trees die, then the city can decide to resume leaf pickup with no negative financial consequences. Win-win!