First off, thanks to Annie for finding out this project was a a contractual planting by Public Works and that the trees have a guarantee period.
I realized after my post/rant hadn't been up that stretch of Central Ave in probably a month, so I drove up along it after work tonight to refresh myself on the size of this project. As Sean said, it runs down the middle of Central Ave and it goes from 28th Ave to about 37th Ave. It looks pretty similar to the median plantings on South Third Street downtown by City Hall. I'm not sure how many trees total were planted (I'd guess approximately a hundred or so). Many of them did look to be in decent shape considering the dry stretch we've had, but I did count about two dozen trees that can be classified as "tinder" along this stretch of almost a mile. A bunch more could conservatively be classified as "stressed" - there are also a variety of shrubs, flowers, prairie grasses and probably some other stuff (nobody will mistake me for a horticulturist). In all, it was a pretty extensive project and probably accounted for a good number of labor hours to install in addition to the cost of the trees and other plants themselves. And it will presumably cost a good number of labor hours to dig out and replace dead trees. To paint a fuller picture, the west side of Central along this way is dominated by a cemetery, a rail yard and Columbia Golf Course. The east side is mostly storefronts and apartment buildings. And there's still some construction work still being finished up, too. So while I don't want to pick on Dean because I know he means well and wasn't familiar with the area, I have to say that expecting or even suggesting that private citizens maintain this area is pretty unrealistic. Even if anyone were crazy enough to try and drag their garden hose across two lanes of traffic on Central Ave, there's hardly any homes in the area that folks could do that from. I don't even want to guess how many trips it would take with a five-gallon bucket to even make a dent in watering all these trees and flowers. So based on the info I have from Dean and Annie, here's my thought on how this could have been handled on Central Ave and elsewhere that these public planting projects occur and I hope people will weigh in if I'm totally off-base here or if this kind of thing is already going on and Central Ave was just a fluke. Public Works and/or MPRB Forestry do the plantings. They contact the Fire Department to notify of them of where the planting projects are located and provide a rough schedule for watering. They could also contact Inspections to give inspectors a heads-up on watching out for projects in their zones while they're out in the field - I'm presuming it wouldn't take that much training for inspectors to learn how to recognize stressed trees and perennials, though in light of the recent fiasco where the native prairie at that YWCA facility was destroyed, maybe I'm wrong. But if firefighters follow the watering schedule they've been provided and inspectors help out with a call or an email if they notice something that doesn't look right, then hopefully this little bit of extra planning and oversight pays off in the long run...at least, I hope. Mark Snyder Windom Park On 7/19/05 6:25 PM, "Dean Zimmermann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I don't know about the specifics of what is happening on Central Ave. They > may or may not be City/Park Board Trees. Sometimes these trees are put in > by a business association or something. > > But, if you see trees that you think need watering you should do something > about it. The best thing to do is: > > 1) water them yourself if possible. The more trees that private citizens > water themselves, there will be more government resources available to water > other trees. There is lots of talk about the right way to water them, but > any water applied any way is better than no water. It is best to let it > trickle into the earth to give a deep soaking, but if you can just carry a > couple of pails of water to them that is good too., > > If you can't do that for whatever reason, > > 2) call the Park Board Forestry Dept at 370-4900 Give them the exact > location of the trees. > > If all else fails > > 3) Call the fire department. The Fire Department is charged with the > responsibility of water trees that the Forestry department asks them to. > Note: we are talking about trees owned by the City/Park Board, not private > trees. > > A truly last resort > 4) Call your local Park Board Commissioner or City Council Member. > > > Peace, > > Dean Zimmermann > Mpls City Council - Ward 6 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > C: 612-388-1311 > W: 612-673-2206 > H: 612-724-3888 > 2200 Clinton Avenue South > Minneapolis, MN 55404 > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of Mark Snyder > Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 6:22 AM > To: Minneapolis Issues Forum > Subject: Re: [Mpls] Watering Trees; Mpls Park & Rec information > > > That's what buckets are for. Your point, however, about the lack of planning > that went into these medians is right on target. It shouldn't be that hard > to follow up new plantings with regular watering to help ensure their > survival. > > The city knows where they are and when they went in and they have water tank > trucks to deliver water far more efficiently than any of us could do with > hoses or buckets. > > But even if there are warranties, I'm pretty sure not watering the trees > regularly enough would void them. > > Mark Snyder > Windom Park > who's been visiting his gramma almost daily to water the crab apple tree he > planted two weeks ago in her yard > > On 7/18/05 11:34 PM, "Sean Ryan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Okay, wonderful, but what about the city owned trees in the newly planted >> medians on Central Avenue? Lots of those have not survived their initial >> planting and now are dead and tinder dry. I hope nobody tries to scurry >> across 2 lanes of central to drag their hose out there. It seems so silly > to >> plant hundreds of trees and spend public dollars only to see them die 2 >> weeks later. Does the nursery that supplies have a warranty for the city >> like bachman's has for the perennials in my yard? >> >> Sean Ryan >> Logan Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
