Letter: 'Heart-sick' at tree removal
Posted on August 18, 2010I live in Steilacoom, therefore, when leaving my town to go almost anywhere, I must drive down Steilacoom Blvd., passing Western State Hospital.
The past few weeks it has been a bit annoying to have to wade through slowed traffic due to the boulevard having one lane closed in order to put in the completely unneeded curbing from 87th Street to Far West Drive. Due to this, now it is unsafe for anyone to walk on the small strip of uneven ground between the stone wall of Western State and the curb or between the hedge on the south side of the street and the useless curb there. Although, there is something of a walkway within the actual grounds of the hospital and a quite nice walkway over the hedge on the opposite side of the street.
However, last evening as I drove toward Lakewood, I was heart-sick to see that the city fathers had deemed it necessary to remove almost all of the beautiful trees which used to line the south side of the street by the park! Only a scant dozen ancient trees are left -- dozens more than that amount have been hacked down, been moved away and the stumps ground down.
Now there is no shade and no beauty left on the venerable street. Is there a real reason for this to have been done? Or is this just another way of bringing "modernization" to our area? If it is, give me the good old-fashioned days. Trees bring meaning and pride to our community. Don't chip away the beauty and replace it with strident concrete for no reason. If you do, the pride may leave which could cause a downfall to the community.
Lynn Geyer
Steilacoom
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2 Comments
August 19th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Before this project started, the City of Lakewood identified three trees that needed to be removed as part of the road improvement project on Steilacoom Blvd between Western State Hospital and Fort Steilacoom Park. The City's arborist gave us some bad news shortly thereafter. Ten trees in the project area, mostly large Maples, were dying and needed to be removed for safety reasons. We will plant replacement trees.
The City of Lakewood has spent many thousands of dollars over the last fourteen years on street trees because, as the writer points out, they make such a beautiful addition to our urban landscape. We are also "heartsick" at the loss of the trees in light of their beauty and maturity, but safety is paramount.
Jeff Brewster
City of Lakewood
Communications Director
August 19th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
The letter, "heartsick" and response from the city is an excellent example of why it is best to always make a gentle inquiry regarding an issue such as the trees being cut down. The time to make a final decision about an issue is not at the knee jerk level, but after all the information is available to you.
The trees along Steilacoom Blvd have been exploding into the pathway of vehicle traffic for years. I have personally investigated vehicle crashes where trees or parts of trees have fallen onto cars.
Mr. Brewster, thank you for the city's well thought out improvement plan. We will look forward to enjoying the new replacement trees.
Joe Boyle - Lakewood resident since 1969