The recent installation of new gas lines on West Pearl Street has put at least 24 city trees in jeopardy and city officials spent time on Thursday inspecting the affected area with the urban forester.
Stephanie Miller, with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, walked the street with Mayor Tom Stinebaugh, Safety Service Director Chad Scott, Engineering Department Supervisor Mary Ruck and city councilors Dan Lee and Rachel Barber, to see first-hand the damage inflicted on the root systems of the trees planted in the tree lawns. Damage occurred when Dominion East Ohio crews dug trenches for the location of new gas lines along the street.
“We’re looking at the roots of the trees to see what the extent of the damage is,” Miller said. “(They) cut from the top down into the roots.”
Some of the trees, Miller said, “just don’t have the root system to hold them up anymore.” Other trees, she noted, are not as damaged as the gas crews tunneled under the roots to place the new lines.
The situation is reminiscent of the West Auglaize Street reconstruction project, which also saw trees damaged from gas line updates and renovation work.
See Friday's paper for the full story.
