Expect delays on Vineyard Boulevard while workers remove a tree at botanical garden; Honolulu, HI

Expect delays on Vineyard Boulevard while workers remove a tree at botanical garden honoluluadvertiser.com The Honolulu Advertiser:
Motorists should expect delays tomorrow through Wednesday while workers remove a decaying Parkia tree at Foster Botanical Garden.
Removal work will begin tomorrow on the tree that is near the road on Vineyard Boulevard between Nuuanu Avenue and the Maunakea gate, officials said.
An independent arborist determined that the tree has substantial decay. The findings were confirmed by the state Urban Forestry Division's horticulturist and arborist. The tree's canopy overhangs all six lanes of Vineyard Boulevard and city Department of Parks and Recreation offices.

Progress being made, but 47,000 empty street tre locations remain; Buffalo, NY

Thinking of Green City Buffalo Rising - SlideFrame_0:
With the Powder Keg Festival this coming weekend and the weather definitely still exhibiting the signs of winter - I invite everyone to begin thinking about spring. I know it's some time off yet but as we are approaching the tail end we need to start preparing for Re-Tree WNY's Spring Tree Planting.

Thanks to continued support from everyone in the community donating their time, energy and resources together we have truly begun to reforest our city. The accompanying map shows all the street trees that have been planted since Re-Tree WNY's inception in 2007 (this does not include the parks). While progress has definitely been made in every corner of the city - the second map shows the continued need. The City of Buffalo still has approximately 47,000 available planting locations! So please consider lending a hand this spring.

Residents remain concerned about design for Southwest 91st Street; Gainesville, FL

Residents remain concerned about design for Southwest 91st Street Gainesville.com:
There was a time when tree-lined Southwest 91st Street was considered out in the country.
Over the decades, residential growth west of Gainesville, including that in Haile Plantation, and the extension of the once dead-end road have brought a steady rise in traffic.
Now linking Newberry Road and Archer Road, 91st Street accommodated more than 8,000 vehicles daily between the stretch from Newberry Road to Southwest Eighth Avenue in 2008, according to traffic count numbers filed with the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization.
Shaded by an oak tree canopy, the road, also known as Fort Clarke Church Road, has maintained much of its rural look on that stretch from Newberry Road to Eighth Avenue, even as the road has grown heavily traveled.
It is one of one of only five official county scenic roads -- a designation the County Commission approved in 1987.
But some residents are worried the road will lose its charm and see an increase in safety problems under the designs for a road repaving project. Those plans are scheduled to go to the County Commission Tuesday night for what is likely to be a final vote on the proposed design before the project is bid for construction.

In the 'Urban Forest' of San Jose there are many street trees, many problems; San Jose, CA

In the 'Urban Forest' of San Jose there are many street trees, many problems - San Jose Mercury News: The two sycamore trees stand like faithful old sentries in the middle of a quiet block on East Mission Street, near San Jose's Bernal Park, and at first glance they appear to be identical. Probably planted at the same time, they are about the same size and have a similar wintry grandeur even unadorned by leaves.
But one of these trees is in trouble — as are many trees in San Jose's urban forest. This one could someday become a danger to the neighborhood, and to Christian Bonner, an arborist at San Jose nonprofit Our City Forest, the difference could not be more obvious.
One of the trees has been 'topped,' a now discredited method of pruning that has opened the tree to decay, and possible ruin. Bonner suspects the tree's owner isn't even aware that it's in peril.

Streecars and urban tree canopy - friends or enemies? Washington, DC

Streetcars 4 DC » Blog Archive » Committe of 100: Misleading and Just Plain Wrong Part II: Streetcar Wires and the Urban Tree Canopy:
The Committee of 100 on the Federal City has issued a petition against streetcars in the District of Columbia and is asking neighborhood and citizen organizations to sign on. Before doing so, all organizations should be aware that the petition and its supporting document are full of falsehoods and misleading insinuations. In a previous post, I countered the biggest falsehood — the claim that cities around the world are installing streetcar systems that do not use overhead wires. To date, only one city has done so: Bordeaux, and that system proved so problematic that the vast majority of that city’s system, including all future extensions, uses overhead wire.

Non-profit recreates historic street scape designed by Kessler in 1920; Terra Haute,IN

Terre Haute News, Terre Haute, Indiana- TribStar.com - TREES meeting with Ohio Boulevard homeowners:
Ohio Boulevard homeowners will meet Thursday to learn about plans to rebuild the historic area’s tree canopy.
TREES Inc., in cooperation with the City of Terre Haute, will plant 100 shade trees along the boulevard March 27. The spring planting will be the first of several projects TREES Inc. will complete this year in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
City Forester Bill Kincius will have maps of the area showing potential planting sites and will discuss the types of trees that will be planted.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, the Ohio Boulevard-Deming Park Historic District was designed in 1920 by one of America’s best-known landscape architects, George Kessler. Sites for the new trees will be based on Kessler’s landscape design for the boulevard.

Town denies claim resulting from Bradford pear falling on citizen's car, but removes all Bradfords in downtown area; Mooresville, NC

Town removing trees - CharlotteObserver.com:
A motorist told the Observer that a Bradford pear toppled onto his van as he drove through downtown Mooresville Sept. 11.
'My van was going 30 mph, and it totaled my van, with me in it,' Stephen Horney of Mocksville said in an e-mail. He said the collision hurt his back. The tree fell on a 'clear, wind-free day,' Horney said.
Horney's claim for damages with the town was later denied by Michigan-based Midwest Claims Service, the claim administrator for the company that provides the town's insurance coverage. He said the 2007 Chevy Express sustained $16,000 in damages.
Midwest Claims found that the town had no prior notice of the defective condition of the tree and that a tree branch fell onto the van due to 'natural occurrences' the town had no control over, according to the company's denial letter to Horney.

Denver Digs Trees offering no or low cost street trees; Denver, CO

Living Urban in Denver » FREE Trees:
Applications are due for The Park People’s annual Denver Digs Trees Spring Street Tree Distribution on February 15!
Apply for a street tree that will beautify your neighborhood, improve your property value, filter air pollution, and cool your neighborhood in the summer.
Trees this size usually sell for more than $100, but Denver Digs brings them to Denver residents for only $25 each!
Trees are FREE for residents in target neighborhoods. These neighborhoods, chosen for their particularly low canopy cover.

Town to replace Bradford pears planted in the 1990;s due to breakage, damage; Mooresville, FL

Broad Street tree canopy to be replaced:
The Town of Mooresville and its beautification committee will begin a tree replacement project next week to replace Bradford Pear trees along Broad Street downtown.
First planted in the early 1990s, the trees have become a safety hazard and must be removed.
In 1989, the Mooresville Beautification Committee began a tree planting project to create a decorative border along the railroad and Broad Street. Over a period of two years, the citizens of Mooresville donated funds to purchase 59 Bradford Pear trees. The majority of the trees were purchased in memory or honor of a loved one.
Although one of the most popular landscape trees in the Southeast, Bradford Pears have a weak limb structure and vigorous growth. After approximately 20 years the trees become hazardous during storms and break easily.

Study: Street trees and tree canopy increase home prices; Portland, OR

Study: Street trees increase home prices in Portland Oregon Environmental News - – OregonLive.com:
A Portland researcher has verified what many people already assumed to be true: trees add value to a home.

A new study says such trees increase home prices in Portland. In a paper published in Landscape and Urban Planning, Geoffrey Donovan of the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station found that, on average, street trees add $8,870 to a home's sales price and reduce its time on the market by 1.7 days.

Donovan and his co-author, David Butry of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland, reviewed data meticulously collected from 2,608 homes for sale in east Portland in the summer of 2007.

What they found was that if a house had street trees and tree canopy close by, that increased the sales price of a house and it sold faster.

Mayor's Tree Commission delivers ten proposals from comprehensive review of existing program; Fort Wayne, IN

Mayor's Tree Commission recommends building on current forestry successes:
Mayor Tom Henry's tree commission has recommended the City of Fort Wayne's Parks and Recreation Department continue to build on the well-managed urban forestry program by creating a comprehensive approach to caring for the city's tree canopy.
“For a number of decades, the City of Fort Wayne has had strong, proactive care of our city's park and street trees. Our urban tree canopy is one of our community's greatest natural assets and this report's recommendations can help us preserve what we have while fostering an environment for new growth, so to speak,” Mayor Tom Henry said. “I would like to thank the ad-hoc commission members for their time and dedication to this report. They recognized the strengths of the Parks' forestry program and identified ways to advance it.”

The tree commission's report recommends transitioning from a focus on maintenance to a broader responsibility that becomes a comprehensive urban forestry program with continued public engagement and support.

Blogger transposes city street tree planting list for LeDroit neighborhood onto Google Maps as a resource for residents; Washington, DC

A Tree-Hugger’s Christmas Left for LeDroit:
DC’s Urban Forestry Administration has released its tree-planting list for early 2010. UFA aims to plant 3,000 trees between the curbs and the sidewalks in the coming year to help expand the city’s tree canopy. Trees prevent erosion, lower cooling bills, absorb pollutants, and just look pretty.
We have plotted each planned tree for LeDroit Park and Bloomingdale on the map below.

ARRA-Duke Energy project trades stately oaks for crepe myrtles under neighborhood power lines; Raleigh-Durham, NC

Bull City Rising: Duke/Gregson street tree canopy replacement starts before New Years Day:
The cherished oaks that line urban Durham's streets give near-downtown neighborhoods much of their character. But their time has been widely recognized to be coming to an end, as the trees reach the end of their natural lifespan.
And, of course, today's oaks run smack into the little problem of Duke Energy power lines, which weren't so much a concern when the trees were first planted during the Great Depression era as a WPA project.
It's fitting, then, that the economic stimulus effort of the Great Recession would come along to help replace some of these trees. (Goodness knows it's better than the trees being left to their current wacky-cutback state.)

Town issues RFP for street tree inventory to support planting plan, ordinance enforcement; Cornelius, NC

Town of Cornelius Tree Inventory and Analysis on Public Streeets right-of-way RFP

Courthouse couplet still a conundrum - not enough room for mature trees, public buildings, and businesses in roadway improvement; Flathead County, MT

Courthouse couplet still a conundrum:
State highway officials on Thursday unveiled more options for widening U.S. 93 from 13th Street to just north of the Flathead County Courthouse couplet, and one thing’s clear from the newest design plans: Something’s got to give.
Whether it’s the county commissioners’ building, the MSU Extension Service quarters and county mail room, mature trees lining the highway or neighboring businesses remains to be seen. The bottom line is that there just isn’t enough room to expand the highway and still keep everything in place.

Orlando completes 5-year 10,000 tree public space hurricane mitigation program; Orlando, FL

10,000 trees planted: Orlando has it made in the shade -- OrlandoSentinel.com:
Five summers ago, a trio of hurricanes devastated Orlando's tree canopy, scarring a city known for the shady brick streets running through its oldest neighborhoods.

On Thursday, the city completed a five-year initiative meant to repair the damage and someday return the City Beautiful's tree canopy to its former glory. Mayor Buddy Dyer planted the last tree of the city's '10,000 Trees Initiative' launched in the aftermath of the 2004 hurricane season.

'When you fly into Orlando, you observe the oaks and the pine trees. When you think of our neighborhoods, especially our downtown neighborhoods, you picture the tree canopy,' said Dyer, who planted a 16-foot live oak at Wadeview Park on Thursday.

17th Streetscape: City Trims Number of Trees to be Removed; Washington, DC

17th Streetscape: City Trims Number of Trees to be Removed « Borderstan:
Last Saturday ANC 2B/Dupont Circle held a rally and walk down 17th Street with city officials to review initial tree removal plans that were part of the 17th Streetscape project. Work began November 30.
The city’s initial plans called for the removal of almost all of the 35 trees between P and Riggs Streets NW on 17th. However, after the 17th Street walk, plans have been revised so that only about 10 trees will be removed from this stretch of the street.
Following is a detailed report on the Saturday walk and the city’s revised tree plans for 17th Street from Commissioner Jack Jacobson, ANC 2B-04.

"The tree is bound to get sacrified for the cause" of urban infrastructure; Mysore, India

Star Of Mysore Online:
Mysore, Dec. 7 (KMC)- This Honge tree (Pongamia pinnata) standing on the road's edge near a supermarket at Ballal Circle is dying slowly, eliciting concern from the tree lovers in that area.
The avenue tree, aged approximately 50 years and having dense foliage, had been providing ample shade for pedestrians.
However, it appears to be a victim of urbanisation — the leaves have been turning yellowish and branches gradually wilting — a slow but sure death for the tree and the cause for this is the grievous injuries inflicted on its roots a fortnight ago by the workers who dug up the tree's base to rectify the water supply pipeline.
An engineer in the Vani Vilas Water Works, when contacted in this regard, said that such incidents were common when it came to providing amenities in urban regions and had to be accepted by the people for their own good.
Trees should neither be planted above the water supply pipelines nor below the electricity cables, the engineer said and expressed his inability to prevent such 'untimely' deaths of trees.

Tree Alliance joins fight against DOT's Merritt Parkway tree-cutting; Norwalk, CT

Tree Alliance joins fight against Merritt tree-cutting – Wilton Villager CT Environmental Headlines: NORWALK — The Norwalk Tree Alliance has joined the effort to get the state Department of Transportation to trim back its tree cutting along the Merritt Parkway. The Tree Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote Norwalk’s urban forest canopy, expressed its position in an e-mail to ConnDOT Commissioner Joseph F. Marie and other state officials.

City arborist denies blog writer list of scheduled work as Commissioner investigates removals; Washington, DC

Missing the notice for the trees - Greater Greater Washington:
A leafy canopy makes a street far more desirable and valuable. It's no wonder, then, that residents get very upset when their government removes trees. Sometimes trees have to go; disease can kill them, and if a tree falls, that impacts the homeowner immediately and even literally.
At other times, however, arborists can disagree about whether a tree has to go. We have a honey locust tree in our backyard that lost a limb after another tree fell on it (and the house's previous owner's car) during a storm. About half the aborists we talk to say the tree should come out, since it might fall over one day. The other half say that these trees are nearly indestructible, and unless it starts dying, we have nothing to worry about. We like the shade. What to do? For now, we're keeping it. We hope we're right.
That tree is on private property. But if it were a street tree, DDOT's Urban Forestry Administration could simply decide to take it out. DDOT has policies that they should notify homeowners, and the Council has considered laws to require notification. But those aren't always followed.