Last week, bright pink Xs appeared on more than a dozen trees along Hartrey Avenue near Dempster Street, and chainsaws were in use Monday morning. The project is part of the city’s sidewalk improvement program, approved by the City Council two years ago with the goal of repairing and filling gaps in the city’s sidewalks. Network of sidewalks and make walking safer, especially near schools, medical facilities and retirement homes.
The Hartrey-Greenleaf Project is an early test of the city’s sidewalk program and new tree ordinance, both of which are priorities of the Climate Action and Resilience Plan and the Evanston Local Needs Assessment Process.
The Tree Protection Ordinanceadopted by the City Council last fall, recognizes that trees are part of Evanston’s critical infrastructure — green infrastructure, as opposed to gray infrastructure like roads, sewers and sidewalks. Trees help with stormwater management by slowing and absorbing rain, and provide more immediate benefits to the people who live and walk near them, like cooling shade and cleaner air.
The city forest is completely interconnected. the regulationwhich came into force on 1 June, “regulates the maintenance, protection, removal and replacement of existing public and private trees (emphasis added) within the City of Evanston to protect and preserve the urban forest and all the benefits it provides to the community.”
The first priority is conservation, starting with trees that have grown at least 6 inches in diameter. This is because it takes a while for the trees to return their benefits (including carbon sequestration) that go beyond the costs of cultivation, transport, planting and establishment.
Dangers to trees in urban areas are often related to construction work, so residents may come into contact with the ordinance when applying for a building permit, for example.
The city’s tree conservation officer, Angela Levernier, who joined the forestry staff in May, reviews permit applications involving trees and works with developers to find ways to protect and preserve healthy trees. If preserving a tree proves impossible, the ordinance calls for it to be removed under a Schedule that reflects the size and value of the treeOaks are more valuable than trees with little or no wildlife value, such as ginkgos.
As part of the Evanston Process and the Local Assessment of Needs (EPLAN) completed in 2022, it was determined that the west side of Evanston, where this section of Hartrey is located, “is most in need of additional investment in tree canopy cover, particularly given that this part of the city is home to a higher concentration of vulnerable populations who are disproportionately at risk from climate hazards.”
But what happens when the expansion of the tree canopy encounters another worthy target?such as expanding the city’s sidewalk network?
The sidewalk improvement plan, like the tree ordinance, also advances climate and equity goals, in this case by making it safer and easier for people to get around without relying on cars. This stretch of the Hartrey, running south from Dempster, is a priority for new and improved sidewalks, in part because the ETHS Day School is located in the middle of the block and Erie Family Health Center And Have dreamswhich provides services for people with autism, is located at the corner of Hartrey and Dempster. The project includes new sidewalks, replacement of old and damaged sections of sidewalk, crosswalks, and improved lighting.
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A tree opposite the Rebuilding Exchange and ETHS Day School is marked for removal. Credit: Wendy Pollock -
Workers will begin felling the trees on Monday. Credit: Wendy Pollock -
Workers are removing the last of the large silver maple trees that shade this section of the trail. Credit: Wendy Pollock -
The ETHS Day School was one of the reasons why this block was among the first to get a new sidewalk. Credit: Wendy Pollock
The Hartrey-Greenleaf project presented us with significant challengesnot only because the road is narrow and busy, but also because it is or was lined with trees.
The city has a wide right-of-way in front of the houses on the west side, and therefore has the legal right to build a walkway there and remove trees that are in the way. The construction contract calls for the removal of 22 trees, 10 of which are 15 inches or larger in diameter at breast height.
“The trees are the biggest concern for residents,” said Terry Haynes, senior engineer at Singh & Associates, the firm overseeing the project for the city. “It’s a difficult situation. If we were to build a sidewalk, a lot of trees and bushes would have to be removed; there’s not a lot of room.”
Rajeev Dahal, a senior project manager in the city’s planning and engineering office, confirmed in a phone call on August 5 that he had heard concerns from neighbors. two public meetings last year and was inspecting trees with city arborist Kevin Ward, then a forest ranger. They tried to save as many trees as possible, Dahal said.
Work began last week with surveyors planning the walkway. “According to plan,” one of the experts explained. Several trees along the path of the new walkway were marked for removal. The engineer could make changes, the expert said. And that’s exactly what seems to have happened.
Haynes confirmed Monday that Emily Okallau of the city’s forestry department, which pushed through the ordinance last year, visited Dahal late last week after surveyors finished their work. Some adjustments had been made before the bulldozer arrived to dig the foundation for the new trail.
In some places, the walkway now runs alongside several old trees. However, when arborists began removing the large old tree that shaded her front yard, a neighbor wrote that she was “heartbroken.”
Once the walkway is completed, the trees will mostly be replaced by native species. The contract calls for 30 new trees, including oaks, tulip trees and linden trees, to replace the trees removed. It is not clear whether the city will follow the tree ordinance’s replacement guidelines in its own sidewalk construction project.
Concerns about the removal of existing trees prompted some neighbors to organize a tree walk last October to discuss the sidewalk plans with city arborists, City Engineer Lara Biggs and Councilmember Krissie Harris (2nd Ward). Tree activist Leslie Shad, director of Natural Habitat Evanston and its tree planting program, was there. The row of old ginkgos had turned a brilliant autumn yellow, she recalled.
“I’m not a fan of ginkgo, but they were surprisingly beautiful,” she said. “But I’m excited that they’re going to plant native trees.”
Climate Watch is a series of occasional articles about what climate change means for Evanston and what we’re doing locally to make a difference..
