The Abuse of Street Trees

Typical streetscape: trees in concrete

In almost every streetscape I see, street trees line roadways. Even in renderings for street designs in my hometown that is under snow for 7 months out of the year. Green is beautiful, yes, but can we design winter cities to be beautiful too? I would like to see a rendering of a streetscape in mid-winter snow.

How well can a street tree survive? Yes, it’s all well and good to have them on your street because they’re pretty, they add character, etc. What is the lifespan of a street tree compared to one in its “natural” setting like a park? I attended a presentation by the parks department of the City of Edmonton regarding street trees and I was amazed at how much time and money goes into supporting the trees. Regular studies are done on them to track growth or illness, research conducted to find solutions to problems of root systems, which trees are the hardiest, etc. and the personnel who do all this.

How big of an affect does road pollution have on street trees? Such as exhaust from vehicles, salt and sand from winter road de-icing. What about vandalism, and pests? Are trees a “sustainable” choice for urban greening? Or is there a better choice of vegetation that is hardier and lower maintenance than these trees? I remember seeing many different small shrubs growing along the streets in Vancouver. They certainly wouldn’t have height problems, overgrowth of their canopies or roots compared to trees. Though I know very little about urban vegetation, I often wonder how healthy most street trees are. What other options are there? We need as many green areas as we can muster to counter air-pollution, absorb rainwater and connect our urban ecosystem back to natural processes that we have managed to alter to severely.

Image: of downtown Kelowna, BC, Canada

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