[CANUFNET] Root systems & private property

[Trevor Thistle]

Is that broken sidewalk also on the Municipalities side of the property
line? In edmonton, that may determine who pays for sidewalk repair.

In this situation I would remove the broken sidewalk, air excavate out the
soil in the area of the sidewalk, place the gravel base for the sidewalk
around and over the roots and repour the sidewalk to match the height of
the first step. Air excavation will also give you a good idea of what the
tree has for structural roots. for example, it the tree has 6 roots under
the walk but only one needs to be removed to replace the concrete, you
would feel more confident that a selective root prune won't render the tree
hazardous. however, if the root you need to cut is 1 of only 2 roots on
that side of the tree, thats something to be concerned about.

In Edmonton we do something we call a tree treatment when replacing
sidewalks that have failed due to root conflicts. this sometimes
involves decreasing the thickness of the base under the concrete and / or
reducing the thickness of the concrete, but reinforcing it with
additional rebar. In addition, the cement is scored every 12-16 inches
before it cures (just as you would with sidewalk panels). the rebar will
prevent the concrete from disjointing, and the scores in the concrete will
control and perhaps hide the cracking

You will likely have to curve the walk around the tree.

raising the walk may allow you to avoid root pruning but you will have to
do some minor filling and sod replacement to get everything to blend
together.

I hope this helps.



[image: image.png]






*Trevor Thistle Bsc. Forestry*
*Urban Forester **| **PR-4760AM | **Tree Risk Assessment Qualified*

OPEN SPACE OPERATIONS

CITY OPERATIONS |  PARKS AND ROADS SERVICES

780-944-5577  OFFICE

780-913-5893  MOBILE

City of Edmonton

12830 58 Street NW





On Thu, Oct 31, 2019 at 5:49 PM Andrew STEIN via CANUFNET <
canufnet at list.web.net> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> Looking to improve practices and policies as a municipal urban forester
> and wondering how other authorities manage public tree root systems
> venturing onto private property. Public trees butting up against fences,
> sidewalks, surface roots, etc.
>
> Managing expectations is a big part, but what about situations where an
> intervention is required, such as the photo included below, where a public
> tree is immediately adjacent to a private sidewalk that needs repair?
> Are critical rooting distances ALWAYS respected?
> Do other municipalities offer support to homeowners? If so, in what
> capacity?
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Andrew
> [image: IMG_0283.JPG]
> --
> *Andrew Stein, M.Sc.*
> *Agent de recherche*
> Direction des travaux publics
> Division voirie et parcs
> Ville de Montréal - Arrondissement LaSalle
>
> 7277 Cordner
> LaSalle (Québec), H8N 2J7
>
> Cellulaire: 514-241-0567
> Courriel: andrew.stein at montreal.ca <andrew.stein at ville.montreal.qc.ca>
>
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