Trimming: Before and After

By Eric Richardson
Published: Friday, December 15, 2006, at 09:47AM

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES —

This past week the Bureau of Street Services came down Spring street and chopped up all the trees. This impacts the look of the street, but it also impacts the look out my windows. The photo above shows the view from my bedroom before and after “trimming.”

Street tree maintenance is a complicated issue. I wrote about this back in August, citing BSS in saying that they only have the money to trim a street tree once every seven or so years.

Of course explaining that it's about the money doesn't change the fact that chopping back all the trees drastically alters the feel of a street. Spring street post-cutting feels barren and sparse.

Quick Regrowth

The ficus trees that are so prevalent Downtown are certainly quick growers. Back in June BSS completely cut back a tree on 7th street. If you look at that same tree today it's not that large but it has regrown a fairly full head of leaves.

So that tells me that Spring has a decent chance of looking ok at the start of summer. Perhaps BSS just wants us to feel like we're on the east coast and that our ficus trees lost their leaves naturally for the season.

It would be nice to figure out some way that this drastic cycle might not be the approach of the future. Ideally these trees would get routine maintenance and pruning and not their seven-year chopback. That's going to take a different pot of money, but perhaps it's something that the minimally-active Historic Core BID might interest itself in.

For the next few months, though: I think we might invest in some curtains.

Comments

lastraphanger writes:

I'm really glad that the trees have been trimmed on Spring just south of Fifth...I love trees, but they really needed a "haircut." Maybe the greater visibility will help the new Weeneez hot dog shop, which hasn't looked very busy since it opened (today at lunch time I saw two customers inside...not a good sign :-( )

# on Dec.15.2006 AT 02:26 PM

Don Garza writes:

Can you say safe cities initiative.

I can't believe people actually think that there is even the slightest possibility that this is something nice that the bss will be doing all of the time.

# on Dec.15.2006 AT 11:14 PM

Kenarch writes:

Ah yes... ficus macrophylla. (I think that is what those trees on Spring are). We have so few trees Downtown, and too many of them are that species... they absolutely obliterate everything around themselves... they devour the view, since they are so dense and fast growing... they have phenomenally powerful roots that wreak havoc with the sidewalks and even streetsm, and they are quite the dirty, rat infested things. But... better the ficus' than no trees at all. Those trees really need to be pruned every two years to make them really look decent. The ficus trees in the Flower District (San Julian and Wall south of 8th) look great right now. Opening up the trees on Spring should greatly improve visibility as well. I never walk down Spring because those heavy tree canpoies make it feel creepy and dark to me.

Hey - who knows. Maybe Safe Cities Initiative has done a good thing here.

# on Dec.16.2006 AT 04:08 AM

Scott Mercer writes:

Exactly. The giant, overbearing trees made the street seem gloomy, foreboding and dangerous at night, as well as literally darker since they blocked out a lot of the light from street lamps.

The trees should actually be harvested and replanted with something much smaller. These giant trees are just not appropriate along an urban sidewalk.

But at least they trimmed them, that does help quite a bit. I'm glad they trimmed them, at least, but they should have been removed and replanted.

# on Dec.22.2006 AT 08:53 AM