[CANUFNET] Boulevard Plantings

[Julian Dunster]

Messagethis link considers some related issues.

jd


http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/march08/content/view/12/1/1/2/
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ian Wilson 
  To: Canadian Urban Forest Network 
  Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2008 9:25 AM
  Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] Boulevard Plantings


  Those are good ideas Jeremy, except that we are also experiencing more pressure to reduce the size of the boulevards and medians, to allow more room for bike lanes and increased road widths for traffic flow.  We're usually pretty limited in the amount of space on public right of ways, and in many cases the only way we can get more is to acquire a larger right-of-way from the adjacent private properties.  We have narrowed up the road lanes in some instances, or taken out parking stalls and planted trees in bulbs...

  Ian Wilson
    -----Original Message-----
    From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of Jeremy Gye
    Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2008 7:58 AM
    To: 'Canadian Urban Forest Network'
    Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] Boulevard Plantings


    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



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    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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