Save Our Street forum raises prospect of preserving trees on Summit Avenue

Summit Avenue resident Gary Todd outlined SOS’s concerns about the regional trail project. These include the off-road trail’s effect on the historic character of Summit and its potential impact on trees on the boulevards and in nearby yards.

The recommendations of independent arborists.

SOS has hired a team of independent arborists to examine the issue and outline the conditions that can make trees more vulnerable to damage from trail construction. Chad Giblin and Manuel Jordan are both certified as arborists and tree risk assessors by the International Society of Arboriculture. They cautioned that with a construction project like the Summit Avenue regional trail, some trees may be lost.

Giblin and Jordan advised citizens and public officials alike to make sure the plan that is approved causes the least tree damage possible by, among other things, taking special measures to protect tree roots. Once the plan is in place, they said, people should watch for any construction change orders since these could lead to more damage to the root structure of trees.

Boulevard trees are especially vulnerable.

Trees are already vulnerable to strong winds, invasive species and drought or other stressful weather conditions, the arborists said. However, trees in urban areas deal with additional stressors. Urban soils are less habitable than soils in more natural settings, they said. The roots of urban trees are also more likely to be restricted by utilities and other underground structures. Even something as small as a sprinkler system can have a major impact on a tree’s root structure, they said.

Before the regional trail project begins, the arborists recommend a thorough updated inventory of all of the trees along Summit. The conditions affecting each tree should be analyzed. Extra measures should be taken to protect tree roots during construction. Those measures could include root protection mats and fences.

The city’s process for protecting trees.

Clare Cloyd, a spokesperson for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, gave an overview of the project’s planning process as it relates to the health of trees. According to her, site conditions and constraints related to tree health and tree preservation will be carefully considered when the Summit Avenue regional trail project enters the preliminary design and engineering phase.

City forestry staff will review the project plans early on to address the potential impact to trees, Cloyd said. Forestry and project staff together will evaluate trees within a project area to determine their overall health, review the specific impacts to individual trees and note the trees that warrant extra precautions. Modifications that could be made in order to preserve a tree or trees will also be considered.

Minimizing the impacts in the root zones of trees is an important part of the planning and construction process, according to Cloyd. “Standard details often include such measures as a fenced-in tree protection zone that limits operations and impacts relative to the tree’s drip line,” she said. “When a project begins, the project manager and site inspector ensure that measures are in place to avoid damage to trees. Forestry staff regularly visit construction sites and attend weekly construction meetings to provide feedback on the impact to trees.”