Parks, Recreation & Leisure

Parks, Recreation & Leisure / Parks & Forestry

Tree Talk

Landscaping Tips | Plant of the Month | Tree Talk

Time and Change
My wife and I purchased a turreted Queen Anne style home on W. 5th Ave in 1980. The lot was graced with mature maples and a white birch. A photo of the home taken in the early 1920's also showed mature trees in the front yard. None of the trees were the same as those we found in 1980. Since 1980 the trees again have changed.

Two sycamore trees, a ginkgo and a pair of 'Forest Pansy' redbuds now grace that yard, courtesy of subsequant owners. The red maple in the yard died during our ownership, the birch and the Norway maple died later. The point I am making is that urban trees do not live as long as we tend to think they do. We all envision the monarchs of the forest living for centuries but it turns out that the typical urban street tree often survives for only seven to ten years.

Street trees have much to contend with. Their bark is subject to injury from mowers and string trimmers. They can receive large doses of road salt in the wintertime. Their roots are compromised by pavement. Tree roots tend not to grow under pavements so many street trees have only about 180 degrees of root circumference to support them. If trenching for road repairs or sewer and storm drains to homes impacts a significant number of these roots the trees can be rendered unstable, liable to blow down in storms. These unsafe trees will often leaf out and look entirely healthy but they have very little holding them into the ground. The city endeavors to remove these unsafe trees before they fall . One of the purposes of inspection on building projects is to recognize and prevent avoidable damage to street trees.

Sometimes the damage to street trees is unavoidable. Arlington has an ongoing rebuilding of streets with replacement of the roadbed from the soil up. The mature trees on these streets can be damaged by this extensive construction. Cardiff Road lost a number of mature ash trees some years ago that were felt to be unsafe. Arlington removes about 300 City trees a year for a variety of reasons, outlined in criteria adopted in November 1995. Most of these trees are not actually dead when they come down. Any resident unhappy with proposed removal of a City tree can appeal the decision to the tree commission. We try to be cognizant of resident wishes but we also have to keep in mind public safety and the sometimes not inconsiderable costs involved in caring for trees with certain problems.

Fortunately, City ordinance requires the replacement of all street trees which are removed. This is the only way that we can insure the presence of beautiful tree lined streets for future generations. Removal of problematic or unsafe trees gives us an opportunity to select a replacement better suited in size and requirement to specific street locations. Cardiff Road is now better off with a mix of replacement street trees and is less vulnerable to wholesale devastation by the emerald ash borer.

Most of us were attracted to Arlington by fine homes and schools nestled under a beautiful canopy of trees. These trees add genuine dollars and cents value to our properties. They do require our care and a program of regular replacement.

Parks & Forestry Division
Parks & Recreation Department
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Phone: 614-583-5340