[CANUFNET] Boulevard Plantings

[Jeremy Gye]

Here is a related consideration from a broader landscape perspective on the
topic of tree planting on public property.  We are experiencing a lot of
in-fill development in our more developed areas and greenfield development
in the peri-urban areas with a significant net-loss of urban forest.  As lot
sizes diminish and house sizes dramatically increase, the opportunies for
adequate tree replacement on private lots are falling.  This seems to me to
point the way toward increased emphasis on acquiring, perhaps reconfiguring
boulevards and meridians, in order to plant more on public lands.  Any
thoughts on this build-out trend?  Implications for future plantings?
maintenance? resources?
 
Jeremy Gye
Urban Forest Stewardship Initiative - Greater Victoria

  _____  

From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net]
On Behalf Of Ian Wilson
Sent: March-26-08 12:55 PM
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] Boulevard Plantings


Hi Guy,
 
sounds like you have a bit of a challenge ahead of you.  Here's a few
comments as to our practices in Kelowna, BC:
 
- Do you only plant where residents are receptive and skip those that are
not?  Do you plant trees where residents request them not to be? 

 

In the past, we sometimes planted trees whether the resident wanted them or
not.  We no longer do that, because sometimes the tree ends up getting
vandalized or poorly cared for.  Now we send out a letter and ask, and don't
force them to accept a boulevard tree - this approach seems to be
appreciated by the residents.  Later on if they change their minds or the
the house is sold, we are open to going back and doing additional in-fill
planting if we have the necessary resources.

 

- Do you conduct a survey of an area and plant if a certain % of affirmative
is reached? 

 

Our focus is planting on arterial and collector roads.  We only plant on
local / residential streets if a majority of the households on the street
can agree that they want street trees.  We leave it up to them (a volunteer
who lives there) to canvas the neighbourhood and show that there is support
for planting.  If this planting initiative comes from the neighbourhood,
then they seem to take a more active role in caring for the trees.

 

- What about planting on municipal property with no boulevard strip directly
in front of residents home?

 

We do plant on the city right-of-way where there is no boulevard strip, we
have quite a few trees in these types of plantings.  In some sense this
creates even more of a sense of ownership and you have fewer problems with
infrastructure (sidewalks) and the trees do well because of the expanded
root volume.  Sometimes there is "too much" ownership however as the
resident may decide to improperly prune the tree themselves, so we
occasionally have to remind them that they can't prune the trees on the
right-of-way.

 

Some cities have also successfully given away free (or subsidized) trees to
homeowners which must be planted behind the city right of way on private
property.  Sometimes the owner has to sign a contract to water and care for
the tree.  The advantage is that the city has some control over what is
planted and the citizens get the benefits of the tree without having to pay
for maintenance.  But you also lose some control over long term maintenance.

 

We are currently working to change our subdivision bylaw so that in new
subdivisions, the developer has to plant a certain number of trees on
private properties, so we again get the benefits without the additional
maintenance.

 

Ian Wilson

City of Kelowna

-----Original Message-----
From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net]
On Behalf Of Guy Martin
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 11:58 AM
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network
Cc: Len Walters
Subject: [CANUFNET] Boulevard Plantings



Hello all,

 

We have currently been planting trees on city owned boulevards. Basically a
strip of turf 1-2 meters wide between the sidewalk and the road.this is in
residential areas.

As you can imagine we have encountered both positive and negative comments
from various homeowners. In the past we have planted our properties and
boulevard strips without much of a problem and have just gone ahead and done
so.

The road we are currently or rather I should say were working on, also
happens to be the Mayor's road (election year), and he is getting heat from
some neighbors. 

We are now sending out a letter informing that we are doing this albeit it
is late and rather obvious that this is going on.

This is not a new development but an established area that has decent tree
cover now, larger estate lots that will most likely be zoned for a higher
density in the next 10 or so years, with tree removal occurring then, so it
would be nice to have our street trees established.

 

I would like to inquire what other municipalities do or have done for this
type of scenario.

 

Do you plant trees where residents request them not to be? 

Do you only plant where residents are receptive and skip those that are not?

Do you conduct a survey of an area and plant if a certain % of affirmative
is reached? 

What about planting on municipal property with no boulevard strip directly
in front of residents home?

 

Any insight on this problem is welcome!

 

Thanks,

 

Guy Martin

City of Langley

Parks Department

 

 

 

 

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