Page 21 - May-June 2020 Vol38 No1

Figure 4. Green arrows represent actual sight lines European hornbeam or Hollies will
while driving and a good example of a visible sign. not provide adequate shade and will
Figure 5. Oaks planted less than 8 years ago in a two-foot and a one-foot planter. not reduce the urban heat island effect
Figure 6. Tree debris and trip hazards (Figure 3). Additionally, trunks of red
maple trees frequently crack from
radiant heat in a parking lot. These
trees should no longer be planted in
and around asphalt or other hardscaped
areas.

Street trees must be matched to the
size of the planting location and sight
lines to a business’s sign, and provide
shade with a clear trunk. Sight lines
should be determined from actual
eye level and angles where they will
be viewed (car seats and pedestrians).
Signs are rarely viewed from a
helicopter or from directly in front of a
store (Figure 4).

Proposed landscape plans frequently
feature ornamental trees and low forked
trees in front of stores, yet these trees
will never be tall enough to expose a
sign on a building and will eventually be
topped or removed.

Large diameter trees such as London
plane trees, fruitless sweetgum, or
Arnold tulip poplar should never
be planted in small spaces between
a roadway and a sidewalk. No trees
should be planted in anything smaller
than three feet, yet this also appears
frequently in proposed landscape plans
(Figure 5).

Tree selection also should consider
nut size, flowers, peeling bark, etc.
Debris from trees can be a trip hazard,
can damage cars, be tracked into
buildings, or end up in someone’s soup
on a restaurant patio. (Figure 6) Crape
myrtles are one of the messiest trees
around yet everyone still wants to plant
them. Foundation plantings must be
planned around building architecture
(windows, doors, balconies). For
example, large evergreens should
never be planted within three feet of
a structure and underneath a second-
floor balcony.

These are just a few examples that
DO NOT WORK in planning and
planting. Our Urban Forests will
become more sustainable and provide
us with the many benefits we expect,
if due consideration is given to their
surroundings and people’s use of the
nearby space.

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