Town to address tree issue By John Carson, Staff Writer Come the middle of next spring, downtown Tarboro will have a much different look. That is when most of a 30-month process is expected to be completed to replace the trees that line Main Street from the Tar River to the Common. “The main reason it is being done is for the aesthetics,” Tarboro Planning Director Josh Edmondson said. “A lot of the trees there now are not appealing. They are diseased and dying, and we’ve had to do a lot of cutting to keep them off buildings. “As it turned out, the downtown environment didn’t provide ample space. There just wasn’t the space for that species of tree to grow the way it should.” Currently, Darlington oaks line both sides of Main Street’s downtown strip. The trees were planted with the original intent to provide a visually pleasing canopy over the business district. However, 40 years later, those best-laid plans have proven to have not worked. Not expected to reach maturity for 50 years and with a lifespan of 70-90 years, limited growing space along downtown sidewalks has caused the trees to mature too early, thereby making them more susceptible to disease and rot. In addition, high tannin contents in the tree’s leaves and acorns create excessive staining problems for sidewalks and business awnings. While an admitted good species to create the desired canopy, the limited growing and sidewalk space have resulted in roots damaging sidewalks, extensive leaf staining, regular trimming to keep limbs off businesses and canopies that often entirely cover and obstruct business facades. “With the town and business owners committing to upgrading facades, something needed to be done,” Edmondson said. Discussion on a tree-replacement began in September 2012. After more than year of talk, the situation needed action, and the town council started what turned out to a somewhat intricate planning process in January. “In fact, it has been a quite lengthy and involved process,” Edmondson said. “It was much more involved than was originally expected because of the unique building environment in downtown. There just isn’t a lot of room between the growth areas and business facades. “Finding the right species for the space was very involved. There was a lot into putting the right plan together. The plan is the best attempt to satisfy all criteria and factors we have. The main goal is to get healthy trees there that fit our need and environment.” Subsequently, 71 of the 75 Darlington oaks along Main Street will be removed. The only ones to remain are on the 600 block of Main Street and will be left to specifically provide an arboreal gateway to the Common and beyond. “Locating the right trees in the right spots is what we are going for in the new plan,” Edmondson said. “We paid lots of attention to what type of tree is going where. That was a big thing.” Town staff – with assistance from the N.C. Urban Forestry Program, horticulturist Donald Caudle, Mike Worthington of Worthington Tree Farm and Fishing Creek Tree Farm’s Renee Long – determined which species would work best in downtown based on a variety of needed criteria ranging from providing shade and ability to accommodate Christmas lights to the need for contained root systems and maintenance. With a desire to include both narrow crowns for limited spaces and more rounded crowns where space allowed, the plan calls for the 71 Darlington oaks to be replaced by a combination of European hornbeams, Chinese pistache and Fosters holly. While the names may be unfamiliar to most, the trees are commonly seen. Most of the new trees will be hornbeams (40) with 15 pistaches mixed in on blocks as space allow. A total of 16 hollies will be used to anchor the corners of each block to provide an evergreen aspect to Main Street and tie into evergreens along downtown side streets, Edmondson said. According to the plan, only hornbeams will line the 200 and 400 blocks because of space limitations to businesses, while the 100 block will be exclusively pistache. A mixture of the two will be planted in the 300 and 500 blocks. Both the hornbeam and pistache drop leaves once a year and should provide a colorful fall vista of yellow, orange and red. Edmondson officially presented the plan to Tarboro Town Council at its Sept. 8 meeting, warning that its success will not be known for three-four years. “Early maintenance, particularly pruning, is vital to achieve the desired result,” he said. “The trees need to be properly pruned when they are young to grow the way needed. There may be some awning conflicts as they grow, but if maintained right, the canopies will be over awnings once grown.” A public forum on the project has been scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 2 at 5:30 p.m. in Tarboro Town Hall. Edmondson said all citizens are invited, but made special note of attendance by downtown business owners to see they will be affected. The project timeline has another public forum slated for March 2015 with tree removal, planting of new trees and project completion expected no later than May based on availability of trees and weather. For an extensive project, it comes with a reasonable price tag, Edmondson said. Most of the $12,500 appropriated for the project will go to purchase the 71 new trees, while virtually all the labor will be provided in-house with the electric department and public works teaming up for removal and public works doing the planting.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 10:30:48 +0000
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