I agree Lew. I now believe it was a combination, what percentage... I am not sure.
My reason for posting the comment was to make aware neighbors who are planning to replace their sidewalks or may have neighbors who are replacing sidewalks, of the dangers of..now..chopping roots and the lack of adequate water pits for trees. I believe it is a zoning issue, particularly if a tree falls on a person or property such as houses or cars. I would hope the city government would require specific dimensions for tree-pits based on the scale of the tree if you apply for a permit to replace sidewalks. (but I don't think so) A form which says: 1)"are there trees on the sidewalk?", 2)"if so, how many trees and what are the sizes?". Now we have something valuable for the local zoning committees to look at. S -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lewis Mellman Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2007 11:03 AM To: UnivCity@list.purple.com Subject: Re: [UC] Trees on 4500 Walnut Street I heard the same explanation that Mike has for this from one of my local tree hugging friends. Undersized tree pits/openings in pavement are a real problem for many street trees because the roots need a border of permeable surface around the trunk to absorb rain water. Drought periods like we often experience for much of July, August and September many years also contribute to underwatering. It's a good idea to give mature trees supplemental watering during these times, because often times a hard rain will not saturate the dry soil so that much of the rain runs off without soaking in to the roots. Newly planted trees need supplemental water for a few years because their roots systems tend to be smaller than needed. The green "Gator Bags" that we've been using in Clark Park are a great and simple tool. They also offer the trunks a little protection from dog pee and baby strollers. However, failure of anchoring roots that had been compromised by root butchering from bad pavement work seems more likely to me than overall weakening of the tree from inadequate water for the loss of the tree that Kyle photographed. -Lew Mike V. replied: "I think it far more likely that the guys that did the sidewalk simply chopped through all of the tree roots on that side of the tree, thus destabilizing them and making them helpless to resist the high winds of the storm. This theory is supported by the fact that when the trees fell, the roots that came up out of the ground on that side showed signs of cutting, not tearing or snapping. Also, the workers were seen by several local residents cutting through the trees, and when one raised a stability concern, the (presumed) foreman just shrugged it off. - Mike V." S-Ali wrote: "So.I have a theory about what happened to the trees on the 4500 block of Walnut Street which fell during the storm last week. If I am not mistaken, the tree-pits where not adequate for the trees to receive water after the new sidewalk cement job was completed. I have seen it happen in the past, older trees just fall over time from being smothered by cement. Opinions? -S" ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
