[CANUFNET] Looking for some help

[Alex Satel - UFI]

Mark,

If you haven’t seen it yet, you may find the City of Toronto’s “Tree Planting Solutions in Hard Boulevard Surfaces: Best Practices Manual” of interest. Check out: https://issuu.com/dtah/docs/iii-iv_best-practices-manual_append

The manual explores various options (not just soil cells) for effectively integrating trees into urban streetscapes, and also considers questions like maintenance, etc.

You should definitely also invest in a copy of James Urban’s Up by Roots. It’s from 2008 but I think it’s still the gold standard for these sorts of questions. The DeepRoot blog also has some really great articles; you can spend lots of time getting down various rabbit holes and it’s all good stuff.

As to some of your specific questions – I’ve jotted just a few quick thoughts in your original email below, in bold. Just a starting point. Obviously, addressing a lot of these questions will depend upon the Town’s budget for the downtown core revitalization project, but investing in getting the tree situation right will certainly pay dividends.

Cheers,

Alex

Alexander Satel, MFC
Urban forestry and arboricultural consultant
ISA Certified Arborist ON-1353A
ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ)

Urban Forest Innovations, Inc.
1331 Northaven Drive
Mississauga, ON L5G 4E8
T: (905) 274-1022
asatel at ufis.ca
urbanforestinnovations.com


From: CANUFNET <canufnet-bounces at list.web.net> On Behalf Of Mark Carroll via CANUFNET
Sent: June 23, 2021 9:31 AM
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network <canufnet at list.web.net>
Cc: Mark Carroll <environment1st at rogers.com>
Subject: [CANUFNET] Looking for some help

The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville is looking to redevelop it's down town core. A half kilometer of small commercial shops in a tight busy roadway. It is the main east west access for the busiest and most populated are of the municipality. We are looking for ways to incorporate trees in the redevelopment. The sidewalk is 3 to 4 meters wide with a 4 lane roadway. The outer 2 lanes are used for parking.

There are issues with primary hydro lines on the south side. If these can’t be put underground, you may have to select smaller-stature trees for the south side plantings.

There are issues with signage. Owners do not want signs covered. An understandable issue, but business owners should be educated about the increased commercial activity and ‘willingness to spend’ in well-treed commercial districts. Lots of literature out there on the subject. This source (Wolf, 2010) is a little dated now but is a good summary of the research: https://depts.washington.edu/hhwb/Print_Economics.html (under ‘Retail & Consumer Environments’). Also here is an interesting write-up on the subject: https://investfromthegroundup.org/trees-and-sign/ that may offer some ideas (alternative signage, pruning strategies, etc.)

Salt issues in the winter and snow clearing of the sidewalks. Definitely an issue but raised curbs around the planting areas, passive irrigation inlets with seasonal shutoffs (to prevent salt-laden snowmelt from entering the irrigation system), spring flushing, and alternatives to NaCl (expensive but worth it), should all be considered. Public Works/Transportation (staff and mgmt.) need to get on board that they have to work a bit differently/more carefully around high-value trees; to be successful a major revitalization project like this needs everyone to get on the same page.

We have Provincial bussing using double decker busses. This does not allow for trees to overhang the road unless they are over 5 meters from grade. That is indeed a challenge… the parking lanes you mentioned may help reduce impacts.


I am looking for examples of other municipities that have similarities in this type of development.

What was done to give the trees adequate soil and habitat to survive? Soil volume is obviously key, but so is adequate drainage (just as important as adequate irrigation!) Also, consider increased spacing between trees if that means you can invest more in the growing environment – if the trees succeed they’ll fill in the gaps!

What types of trees where used?

What issues did they have?

What surfaces were used around the trees? Avoid tree grates unless they can be opened up to allow for tree increment/trunk flare growth; otherwise they will girdle the trees (assuming you’ve got everything else right and they’re growing well!) I think tree guards are ok for young trees as long as they can be taken off/apart when the trees grow large; these help prevent damage from people locking up bikes, etc. (not sure how big an issue that is in W-S, but it’s big in downtown Toronto). Berczy Park has good examples – they are fairly low, far away from the trees, and can be dismantled when no longer needed. Mulch is obviously your best bet but there can be issues with runoff when it rains. Other options are also available – decomposed granite, resin-bound aggregate, plantings (great for excluding people from the root zone!), etc.

Thank you all for your attention to this.
I am looking for examples that can be shown to the BIA group, Town Council, Staff.




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