Photo Pick: APS to Cut Down Historic Trees on BeltLine’s West End Trail by Caleb Racicot

Oh, no! Not another mature tree cut down. Good luck in stopping this.

Ryan or Caleb, 
Do you have any info about the folks who designed this project? 
And do you know if there are any public appeals being made to stop this from happening? 
Is there an effort to contact APS board members? 
APS staff? 
Trees Atlanta? 
Atlanta Urban Design Commission? 
Sorry to ask so many questions. But when I see trees that have survived as long as these have, it seems only fair that we make every attempt to keep them alive as long as we possibly can. 
Maria

Maria,
I have spoken with Trees Atlanta. They care for many of the trees in question along the beltline triangle. They knew nothing about this removal. In fact, the city has had them plant and care for trees in that area within the last two years.
It seems really silly and incredibly wasteful to spend money maintaining trees if they knew they were going to soon rip them out. The trees in question are healthy, there are also few that are 150+ years old that have been marked for removal.
I have encouraged everyone in the West End Neighbors group to get in contact with our Councilperson Cleta Winslow and also the city arborist that allowed APS to bypass the typical permitting process, Paul Lewkowicz.

I just attended a trees and construction class at Trees Atlanta. There are ways to protect these trees. I have a power point I created. Please PM me and I will send it to you. The neighbors over in Tanyard Park in Buckhead fought the same fight ^^ They hired a professional arborist who determined that a bunch of trees that were proposed for removal didn’t need to be cut down. I recommend Arborguard.

Maria, 

I’m not familiar with the specifics of the plan or the approval process, other than having been told that they plans do have AUDC approval. 

My reason for the picture was that I was, quite frankly, shocked at the number of trees along the back of the sidewalk that had been marked (where, presumably, it would be simplest to work them into the plan). As a city planner, I recognize that there must be a balance between the preservation of trees, urban design, and urban vitality. Often trees can be saved, but sometimes there are greater factors that warrant their removal. Context is essential in making this determination. 

Caleb

Thank you for posting this Maria. I believe this coverage has helped spark more neighborhood debate and has engaged neighbors previously unaware of the plans.