Every time I see an article like this morning's article about trees along Coddington Avenue, I wonder: do folks across the country react the same way Lincolnites do when it comes to trees being cut down to make way for street widening projects? Lincolnites love their trees, and boy do they get fired up when the trees are at risk. Trees are so beloved in Lincoln that they can even effectively be used as a shield against road expansion, as on South 27th Street, where residents planted dozens of trees in the right-of-way to use as a public relations weapon in light of road widening talk. It worked.
I have always had the mentality that anything planted in the right-of-way is at risk. It's a sort of grey area between private property and public property. But one should always know that when road widening time arrives -- and it will arrive on most arterials -- that area will evaporate. Yet time and time again Lincolnites seem surprised when the news comes.
Is it all just classic nimbyism? Or does the presence of trees make the discussion deeper, more personal? In which contexts should trees matter, and in which should they be non-players?
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Trees are an investment. They cost money, they take TLC to grow (at least at first) and they add value to your neighborhood.
The time commitment required to plant and care for trees offers delayed gratification. The time investment alone is considerable.
The trees in question in this article are planted far from the road but, evidently, still in the right-of-way. These were not planted next to the road in an attempt to prevent future expansion of the road, they were planted away from the road to make room for expansion.
I am opposed to these trees being torn out. There is plenty of room to widen the road without removing the trees.
The Journal Star article mentions that if this road project doesn’t occur for another 10 years, the trees may have reached their maturity level and be ready to be removed. That makes this debate moot but if it were to occur today, it would be a waste and a shame to remove the trees.
stupid activist trees and their oxegenating agenda 😉
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