The City of Sweet Home removed nine street trees along 13th Avenue, near Steelhead Fitness, Santiam Feed and Garden Center and the Sweet Home Post Office Thursday and Friday.
“Street trees only last about 20 years,” said Laura LaRoque, planning services manager. The trees were planted nearly 20 years ago.
The city paid CTS, Inc., to evaluate and remove the trees, LaRoque said. The total cost was about $2,500.
The trees were removed for different reasons, LaRoque said. The Scanlon maples on 13th Avenue between Long and Main streets, were running out of space and pushing up sidewalks.
“This is the second sidewalk they’ve put in,” said Garry Burks, owner of Santiam Feed. For his part, he was concerned about the tree’s roots pushing the sidewalk into his building, damaging it.
Prior to removal, city officials had discussed investigating the tree’s root system, cutting out potentially damaging roots and leaving the tree, Burks said. The city also cut the sidewalk, hoping it would relieve the pressure on the building.
The trees on 13th Avenue will be replaced in the next few months by narrower, more columnar trees, LaRoque said.
Around the Post Office and the garden center, the trees were old, with dead branches, LaRoque said. Pruning wouldn’t help them.
The trees had lived beyond their natural beauty, Burks said. They were brittle, unhealthy and needed to come out.
Their replacements will be lighter to avoid blocking too much sunlight, LaRoque said.
The Tree Commission will meet next month to decide what types of trees to plant, LaRoque said.
In the meantime, the city will install root barriers that will keep roots from expanding too far outward, protecting the sidewalks and buildings.
One of the trees, located next to Santiam Feed on 13th Avenue, was a memorial tree for Stan Ego, LaRoque said. Once a new tree species is selected for the spot, located on the south end of 13th Avenue, near Long Street next to Santiam Feed, the city will run it by the family.
Elsewhere, the city will do some trimming in front of All-Star Pizza in the 1200 block of Long Street and replace a dead tree on the west end of the median strip.
The cost of replacing the trees will depend on what trees the Tree Commission selects, LaRoque said.