Little white flags and hash marks on the curb line some streets in Whittier Heights. These markers indicate where a new tree will be planted.
“Thanks to the voter-supported ‘Bridging the Gap’ initiative, SDOT is planting over 800 street trees per year,” Marybeth Turner with the Seattle Department of Transportation tells us. The project in Ballard is focused on planting street trees from 9th Ave NW to 14th Ave NW and NW 65th St to NW 85th St on blocks with planting strips at least five feet wide.
Homeowners get to select one of four trees to be planted in front of their home. Shorter trees will be planted if there are power lines above and a selection of taller trees are available if there are no power lines.
“As part of our ‘Bridging the Gap’ program, we water the trees for the first two to three summers to help ensure survival,” Turner says. “They will be added to the inventory of SDOT trees and will be the responsibility of SDOT urban forestry to maintain.”
The planting is scheduled to begin next month.
Be careful of the trees you choose. Our street planted trees about 12 years ago with guidance from the city arborist. Now — 12 years later — the sidewalks are coming up and people in wheelchairs cannot negotiate the “bumps in the road.” Good luck with your trees!
My dad is concerned about sap from the trees getting on the car. Anybody have any suggestions for which tree we should pick?
Is one of the choices to decline having a tree planted in front of your house? I decline.
How do you decline trees being planted?
Oakw0od–According to Nolan Rundquist, SDOT Arborist:
Typically, the ‘sap’ that drips onto cars is caused by aphids, feeding in the trees. While we cannot guarantee that aphids will not get into our selections for this year, our experience with the trees we have picked is that none of them have been infested to nuisance levels. The biggest problems we have with aphids in the past, have been in Sugar Maple and Littleleaf Linden trees, neither of which are on our selection list.
Hope that helps.
Call them at 206.684.TREE
If you don’t respond, they will plant a tree of their choosing.
“City planting free street trees in Whittier Heights” Ok, they are not free. The tax payers will buy them for the homeowners. Which leads me to ask, why can’t they buy them themselves?
I don’t have a problem with planting trees as long as the home owner wants them. My problem with this program is more of a property rights issue. Who owns the planting strips? If this is my property, I will decide what happens here, not the city.
We opted out via email to the city. They left a flyer on the door with contact info and tree choices. I actually got a response, but would bet we get a tree anyway.
You don’t own parking strips, that is city property.
I don’t live in these blocks, but am nearby and considering what type of tree to plant in my planting strip. SDOT has ~100 trees on their recommended list. Can someone please tell me what tree choices SDOT has suggested for your project? Thanks.