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Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte
I love all kinds of trees. We have a couple of blooming trees in our front yard did get more beautiful every year. But the city is having a problem with trees destroying sidewalks and it’s the thought that the trees can’t be altered or augmented in anyway. They are protected under some strange rules that forbids messing around with their roots, etc.
There are two spots in the city where I’ve witnessed the upheaval of sidewalks because of roots. I threw the subject onto social media and comments are in quotes.
“There’s one on Berkeley St. On the even side around #36 I think it is. Had been there XL for as long as I can remember.”
“Parts of Spencer Ave. and Albion St. and others are impassable.”
“Remove the trees from the sidewalks and plant them in the potholes (perfect speed bumps for nothing).”
“5 or 6 years ago, my husband had a really bad fall over by the Dragon Star on Broadway because the sidewalk was so bad from a combination of tree roots, broken concrete and pot holes. He was being careful and still fell. We called the city to report it, and all we got was a “Yeah, we know … click.” My husband is not the suing kind, but thinking back, that’s exactly what we should have done.”
“The trees are good for the environment, they just need help from the city care once a year, trimming from wires and cleaning the area around the roots, replacing sidewalk cement. They’d a great help for our city.”
“Everywhere, my neighbor’s house foundation is damaged and there are roots in her basement. It’s horrible.”
The city does all it can to fix sidewalks and keep an eye on those roots.
We have to live side by side with our trees, just watch for their roots.
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The city’s Urban Forestry Committee (I’m a member and former chair) is a great resource for anybody who, like the author of this piece, is curious about the “strange rules” that govern our management of the trees.
The committee was established by the city council, appointed by the Mayor, and includes staff from Public Works (who are responsible for tree safety and maintenance, Public Space and Urban Forestry (who are responsible for planning and planting), and residents with both scientific and industry expertise.
We meet at 4pm on the third Thursday of every month. Agendas and minutes are published on the city website, and the public is always welcome. Ever since the committee started more than four years ago, we have started with an agenda item for “resident concerns.” Over the years, dozens of residents have showed up with questions, concerns, suggestions, or just enthusiasm for our city’s urban canopy.
There are also substantial resources available at the committee’s website (https://somervillema.gov/ufc) and the Public Space and Urban Forestry website (https://somervillema.gov/psuf). We have a tree inventory, a master plan, a species guide for residents, and much more.
If you want to do better than a quick question to your friends on social media – please feel free to attend a meeting and talk to the people who can probably give you a real answer.
“messing around with their roots, etc.” usually kills a tree so it seems wise that in a situation where we are losing tree canopy to climate change impacts and development we wouldn’t needlessly kill trees when there are other options for improving sidewalks around them (such as taking space from cars for expanded sidewalks). We should be doing more of that as well as taking space away from parking to plant more trees that don’t interfere with sidewalk ROWs as many cities have done in recent years.