It was depressing to walk around Park St last evening. Many people stopped by to read the condolence messages that were displayed on the pathetic looking stumps that serve as a reminder of the carnage.
There is no dispute that the plan to remove all the trees between Central and Encinal was explicitly mentioned in the staff report and voted 5-0 by the City Council. I’m sure the staff reports contain some very fine prose, but I don’t know if reading them is the first thing most Alamedans think of when they wake up every morning.
The bigger questions are:
- Why wasn’t there a taped notice on each of the trees announcing the imminent removal (as is usually done elsewhere)?
- Did the City fear a backlash if there was an advance notification?
- Was it really necessary to remove several mature trees? It will be another decade or so (atleast) before we have anything close to the majestic canopies that were brutally felled.
- What part of Alameda is Spanish for “grove of poplar trees” or “tree-lined avenue” wasn’t clear to the City Council?
October 24, 2011 at 8:50 pm |
Well said … City Council is filled with nitwits, who would’ve thought street improvements would include the deliberate destruction of 30 trees!!!!!! Only in Alameda.