Laguna Loss

Neighbors on Laguna Ave. a block south of B'way are mourning the loss of four very old friends.  The street trees where doing a number on the sidewalks (see second photo) so the City had to do a number on the trees.

This photo doesn't quite capture the degree of sidewalk lifting.  Even a tree hugger like me would agree it was substantial.

The tough part is losing four in a row of this size and canopy........

Comments

[J]

Any idea how old these trees were? Sad.

[Joanne]

Not enough room for those poor trees. Planting strips look very narrow for the size of those trunks.

[old guy]

They must be at least 50 years old. The one closer to Broadway that was similar is still there to give you an idea.

[Hollyroller]

The sidewalk problems can be very dangerous. Especially for the patrons of the "Dive Bar" down the street.
Hopefully the replacement trees will be maintained by the Public Works Dept.
People who rent in the area would probably "adopt a tree" if the Public Works Dept. contacted ALL the tenants via USPS.
The "templates" are out there. Urban tree reforestations have been going on in the SF Bay Area for 50+ years.
Why not here in Burlingame?
Rentals make up @ 50% of people living in "Our Fair City."
Lets cut back the Public Works Clothing and Shoe allowance by 50% per employee, and use those monies; contacting the largest part of The City of Burlingame's tax and business contributors.

[Bruce Dickinson]

Bruce Dickinson gets the one by the water main/fire hydrant, but were the others really necessary? Wouldn't a heavy pruning restrict further root growth?

At any rate, by virtue of the street trees being gone, probably $300,000 to $400,000 dollars in real estate value was lost between those properties.

Hopefully they grind those stumps and plant some fast growers.

[Hollyroller@gmail.com]

There was an "experiment" done in the Ray Park area in 1989.
The trees are called Sweet Gum.
Under Mr. Richard Quadri, and Mr. Tim Richmond the trees were reduced by one half, and the root and stumps were removed up to the trunk of the Sweet Gum, the sidewalk was removed and replaced with ZERO tree failure.
The "experiment" was done on approx. 70 trees.
Lucky for the homeowners that there was no rush to remove the trees.
In fact, next time anyone drives past Ray Park, look at how vigorous the trees-Sweet Gum look.
I guess the City Manager is attempting to minimize any/all liability regarding trip/fall claims.
Without informing the neighborhood of the massive loss that will effect property owners, and the entire neighborhood.
Mr. Dickenson has really got his finger on the "pulse: of Burlingame.
Thank You Mr. Dickenson.

[Bruce Dickinson]

You're welcome Holly-baby! And yes, you are correct, let's not forget that Bruce Dickinson lives, eats, and breathes in Burlingame, just like the rest of ya, so matters that concern the quality of life in this City command the utmost attention by me and my staff (to their credit, they really do the heavy lifting). As I've mentioned before, I have numerous properties, and can really live anywhere I want to, but I choose to spend most of my non-traveling time in Burlingame as it offers the best of all worlds: beautiful trees, quiet park-like suburb, strong close-knit community feel, convenience to both SF and Silicon Valley and access to numerous aspects of Bay Area culture.

Burlingame is dynamite...and coming from me, that means a lot!

[J.T.]

I believe these were Camphor trees which are beautiful, but have very invasive roots, and are poor selections for a parkway strip.
It all starts with picking the right tree. I recommend the following website for help with this:
http://selectree.calpoly.edu/