Residents: Don't topple 'Tom' the tree - Effort begins to save giant eucalyptus tree (Burlingame Daily News plus photo of car swerving around THE Bump)
Burlingame officials have gotten an earful from people upset by the city's plans to make "Tom" the tree go "timber." It is unclear how old the giant eucalyptus tree is, but city officials say its days may be numbered because of the damage he has caused on Easton Drive, in front of the Easton Library Branch. Tom is blamed for tearing up the road and causing a huge bump that makes drivers swerve out of the way to avoid scraping up the bottom of their vehicles. And, according to the city, the tree's roots have caused all sorts of problems with pipes beneath the road and have upended the sidewalk. Public works employees surveyed the road Thursday to gauge the extent of the problem. "It is loved by people who have grown up in Burlingame and watched it get bigger," said Mayor Terry Nagel. "To them (taking the tree down) is like killing an old friend. I did not realize that eucalyptus trees inspire such passion - either hate or love."
City Council Member Russ Cohen said he first heard the tree referred to as Tom by a woman who read a letter during a council study session about a month ago that asked for it to be spared. The council voted 3-2 in December to take the tree down. Cohen and fellow Council Member Cathy Baylock were the two dissenting votes. The council will reconsider that decision Tuesday night. "Over the course of the last 100 years, the townspeople have always had an affinity for trees ... that is one reason Burlingame has looked differently than other cities on the Peninsula," said Cohen, who is also president of the Burlingame Historical Society. Cohen said he remembers residents organizing successfully a few years ago to save a eucalyptus grove on Skyline Boulevard and that people fought to ensure that trees taken down by Caltrans on El Camino Real would be replaced.
Tom has been a touchy enough subject that it has appeared on six Traffic and Safety Commission meeting agendas and has been discussed by the Beautification Commission for about two years. Sue Fuller, who lives about two blocks from the tree, has written to local newspapers and the council and has spoken with Nagel. "My feeling about it is that a healthy tree should not come down. Yes there is a bump in the road, but there are other ways to deal with bumps in the road," Fuller said. Fuller suggests the city realign the road so vehicles can avoid the bump or install reflective markers to make it visible at night. Syed Murtuza, Burlingame's assistant director of public works, said realigning the road is one of four options, a choice that could cost at least $180,000. Other options include the reflective markers, replacing it with another tree or leaving it be - an option Murtuza doesn't favor. "Imagine someone driving there late at night who doesn't know Burlingame," he said. "It is a hazard we have knowingly allowed to remain."
Burlingame officials have gotten an earful from people upset by the city's plans to make "Tom" the tree go "timber." It is unclear how old the giant eucalyptus tree is, but city officials say its days may be numbered because of the damage he has caused on Easton Drive, in front of the Easton Library Branch. Tom is blamed for tearing up the road and causing a huge bump that makes drivers swerve out of the way to avoid scraping up the bottom of their vehicles. And, according to the city, the tree's roots have caused all sorts of problems with pipes beneath the road and have upended the sidewalk. Public works employees surveyed the road Thursday to gauge the extent of the problem. "It is loved by people who have grown up in Burlingame and watched it get bigger," said Mayor Terry Nagel. "To them (taking the tree down) is like killing an old friend. I did not realize that eucalyptus trees inspire such passion - either hate or love."
City Council Member Russ Cohen said he first heard the tree referred to as Tom by a woman who read a letter during a council study session about a month ago that asked for it to be spared. The council voted 3-2 in December to take the tree down. Cohen and fellow Council Member Cathy Baylock were the two dissenting votes. The council will reconsider that decision Tuesday night. "Over the course of the last 100 years, the townspeople have always had an affinity for trees ... that is one reason Burlingame has looked differently than other cities on the Peninsula," said Cohen, who is also president of the Burlingame Historical Society. Cohen said he remembers residents organizing successfully a few years ago to save a eucalyptus grove on Skyline Boulevard and that people fought to ensure that trees taken down by Caltrans on El Camino Real would be replaced.
Tom has been a touchy enough subject that it has appeared on six Traffic and Safety Commission meeting agendas and has been discussed by the Beautification Commission for about two years. Sue Fuller, who lives about two blocks from the tree, has written to local newspapers and the council and has spoken with Nagel. "My feeling about it is that a healthy tree should not come down. Yes there is a bump in the road, but there are other ways to deal with bumps in the road," Fuller said. Fuller suggests the city realign the road so vehicles can avoid the bump or install reflective markers to make it visible at night. Syed Murtuza, Burlingame's assistant director of public works, said realigning the road is one of four options, a choice that could cost at least $180,000. Other options include the reflective markers, replacing it with another tree or leaving it be - an option Murtuza doesn't favor. "Imagine someone driving there late at night who doesn't know Burlingame," he said. "It is a hazard we have knowingly allowed to remain."
- Written by Fiona
If it is such a hazard to those who may be driving there late at night and "don't know Burlingame", why have there been no accidents??????
There is so much misinformation being presented by the city.
Posted by: sue | January 12, 2007 at 10:45 PM
I was in "I don't know Vail, CO" recently and was confronted with roundabouts. Normally, I would think the street went straight, then you realize...Signage! Roundabout ahead! Arrows on which direction to go! The great signage leading up to the roundabout is what made me "know Vail".
Why can we not put up signage? No right turn, bump ahead.....
Posted by: | January 13, 2007 at 01:28 AM
You do not have to go to Vail to see roundabouts. Just go to City Hall, there is one between the Library and City Hall. The City just finished restriping , etc to keep motorist from getting into an accident. It is OK there, but it isn't OK for Tom.
Posted by: | January 13, 2007 at 07:14 AM