[CANUFNET] Boulevard Plantings

[Guy Martin]

Thanks everyone,

 

I appreciate your input and suggestions and will forward these thoughts
and my own to the powers that be.

 

Guy

 

-----Original Message-----
From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net
[mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of Ian Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 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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