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‘Tree retention evaluation’ — City sorting out how to keep Cal Anderson’s maple trees and fix the sidewalk around the park

Thanks to the many readers who have alerted us to the signs (Image courtesy a CHS reader)

Ominous “tree retention evaluation” signs that have gone up on the dozens of Red Sunset Maples surrounding Cal Anderson Park have caused a stir as Seattle experiences record May heat.

A city spokesperson’s words about the signs probably won’t do much to cool things down though the representative wanted it made clear the notices do not — necessarily — “indicate that we intend to remove these trees.”

“We value our tree canopy and all the benefits it provides. The purpose of the postings was to share information with the public about an upcoming evaluation and scheduled maintenance activities that have the potential to impact the trees,” the spokesperson tells CHS.

The City of Seattle’s transportation department says that the trees, many decades old, are being evaluated “to consider possible solutions to address sidewalk damage with minimal impact to the trees.”

The Seattle Department of Transportation says it is looking into whether the sidewalk alignment can be adjusted around the trees and is also considering “other possible solutions to preserve the trees in any areas where this is not feasible.”

“Arborists and engineers will be working together throughout the project to ensure that we prioritize tree preservation while we repair damaged sidewalks and make it safer and easier for pedestrians to get around, especially people with disabilities,” the spokesperson writes.

We’ve asked for details on a timeline for the evaluation and planned maintenance and will update when we hear back. UPDATE: “We have not scheduled a date for this project. We’re still in the process of considering the repair options and are not ready to begin construction yet,” the department spokesperson tells CHS.

The possible tree removal comes as Seattle is overhauling its tree and canopy protection laws while also trying to keep much needed housing development moving forward.

It also comes as the influential Cal Anderson Park Alliance community group has asked the city to make changes and improvements around the park to improve safety and address drug dealing concerns after the recent deadly shooting on Nagle Place.

Cal Anderson’s canopy is aging, though its most grand specimen, the Chinese Scholar Tree in the northwest corner of the park, has been painstakingly protected and cared for as it has stood for more than a century at the spot. Other smaller but notable trees have fallen over the years including a lovely plum tree that toppled near the wading pool in 2015, and the amazing bigleaf maple that fell in 2016.

You can view a map of the trees around Cal Anderson — and the city — on the city’s Seattle Tree Inventory site.

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subwayschmutz
subwayschmutz
10 months ago

Idea: remove the parking (or move it over to narrow the street) and build a really wide sidewalk + good bike lane.

Make streets safer, remove the tents
Make streets safer, remove the tents
10 months ago

God the amount of stuff we do in this city instead of ensuring that there are NO tents in public areas is just mind boggling.

I love trees. But I don’t give a flying f about sidewalks when a block next to said sidewalk has homeless people and drug dealers shooting each other

Matt
Matt
10 months ago

It would be great to see most of the sidewalk moved in towards the park to give space for these trees to continue to grow. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind the parking removed along 11th to give the trees and the park more room to grow!

Real Talk
Real Talk
10 months ago

I wonder if they’ve ever considered sidewalks that aren’t straight.

Urbanist
Urbanist
10 months ago

This is outrageous. Save the trees and plant more around the park and neighborhood to buffer against the heat island effect. SDOT is out of touch.

Caphiller
Caphiller
10 months ago

As others have said, the obvious solution is to remove the back-in parking space on 11th, and put the sidewalk there to leave more space for the trees.

mattbaume
mattbaume
10 months ago

This is such a simple fix — just convert the parking spaces to sidewalk. It’s infuriating that they might cut down trees rather than eliminate parking.

Glenn
Glenn
10 months ago

Leave the trees and the parking. Move the sidewalk to accomodate both, where possible.