Workers began installing 19 trees on both sides of 4th St between Division and Washington this week, part of the 4th St. reconstruction project. The trees (Autumn Maples, I think) are much taller than I expected, taller than the ones installed on 5th St. last year (right photo).
After the controversy earlier this year over whether or to include in-ground trees on this stretch of 4th St., I was happy to see it.
Griff: I was also very “happy to see it”…
I had dragged up the old “4th street reconstruction , etc” thread to comment on it, earlier in the day before you posted this, because they are such a beautiful addition to that streetscape.
For all the ”hits’ that city hall and the engineering department take, this was a spectacular selection of trees… so perfectly matched that the streetscape of the Historic Downtown will benefit largely.
Thank you, Katy Gehler , City Engineer.
(Full disclosure: have not been in town to see the new street in person yet)
The proportion of the sidewalk to asphalt is a big jarring. The trees are aeshetically nice, but it’s hard to call it a “streetscape” when it really has more the aesthetic of a parking lot. It’s not that busy of a street; if they wanted the diagonal parking, it seems they could have made one wide driving lane rather than two. This is shown to have a great traffic-calming effect — on a block with cars regularly backing in and out, slow speeds are certainly to be desired.
(I realize this was an MSA project, and the city may not be responsible for this width requirement. Just a general statement that it’s an unfortunate result.)