The Breeders: We Miss the Trees

Last week, along with what seems the vast majority of Alameda, I turned the corner of Park and Encinal and stood confused for a second. Something was wrong. Something was different. And then I realized the trees were gone. I quite literally felt sick to my stomach.

Part of me wondered if this post was even necessary.  — and far more dire issues cry for attention locally and globally — but then I remembered why I started this blog in the first place. I wanted to share my experience as new mom and a new resident of Alameda. Park Street is part of that experience.

While I have been on maternity leave, I have spent even more time on Park Street, meeting other moms for coffee and running errands. The Park Street trees provided shade during our late summer heat and the kid loved watching the leaves as we strolled, that is until we got past Central. Then it was up with the stroller visor since the shade was gone.

I admit have not read the 313 page Master Tree Plan (I’ve been a little busy changing diapers and working on tummy time), so I will not argue whether or not crepe myrtle and ginkgo are the best trees to line a busy business district. But I feel confident in arguing that no replacement tree is best when the trees you are replacing are healthy.

I completely understand the need to sometimes replace trees that are diseased or whose roots interfere with the water and power systems that are under the sidewalk we walk down. But, I cannot support the wholesale removal of trees because of aesthetics. To quote Park Street Business Association head Rob Ratto: “A lot of those trees are damaged or gnarled and probably needed to be replaced many years ago ... and, in the case of the Starbucks tree, it is way out of proportion with the street."

In other words, the trees were cut down because they are old — that should be the last reason used to explain their removal. Old trees not only provide shade better than new saplings (as we can plainly see on the block that has already been renovated), they provide character. Those “gnarled” and “disproportionate” trees gave Park Street its character, just as the hodge-podge of buildings built over the last century and a half provide our town with character.

Sadly, the removal of the Park Street trees is the end of my honeymoon with Alameda, and that just might be a good thing. I previously wrote , but no town will make all of its citizens happy 100 percent of the time. That is why civic engagement is necessary. I first contacted Public Works because I thought I could help better a corner, and they listened. I hope they, and the rest of the city’s management, continue to not only listen, but to inform citizens of their plans in a timely and efficient manner so that we can have an open and effective dialogue.