Trees butchered in Bricktown

I was riding my bike around downtown and Bricktown today and I noticed aspects of buildings I never noticed before, then I looked a little closer and noticed why. Because the trees were butchered completely. This is on Sheridan between Walnut and Joe Carter (across from Spaghetti Warehouse and just west of Nonna's). This part of the street you used to have to constantly duck under the trees. Not anymore! I also noticed trees all over other parts of Bricktown had been butchered.

That's stupid. Other than ice storm damage from last December, I don't see why they had to get rid of them. There's nothing wrong with ducking under trees when their main purpose is to provide much needed shade during the summer months!

I always loved that shady spot west of Nonna's. Trimming them up a little would make sense, but it doesn't look the same without the trees.

I agree solitude, they could have been trimmed slightly, but they basically took some to the stump and others as you can see above, basically stripped all the branches off and are nothing but a "post".

I am pretty sure it is just a cleanup from the ice storm. I noticed a few stumps around the canal at various places that look like they had varnish on them. I am just guessing that the ice damaged them to a point they looked ugly so they cut them down. I have no proof of this but it is a guess.

I cannot speak for the way the trees were pruned along the streets in Bricktown, nor the decisions made by those arborists (assuming they were certified arborists). I can speak for how decisions were made regarding the trees along the canal.

It's not just the aesthetic of the tree that was taken into consideration, but the structure and health of the trees, as well.

If more than 50% of the tree canopy sustained damage, then the most likely "remedy" was for it to be cut down. This is done as much for hazard mitigation as it is done for tree health. Trees that are severely damaged are more susceptible disease and will not regain their functional shape, even after multiple growing seasons.

Most of the pruning done immediately after the storm (at least that along the canal) was done for hazard mitigation. Hanging branches and other damaged areas were immediately pruned, safety and not aesthetics being the first priority.

Later "corrective" pruning (an actual horticultural term) to help to reshape the trees and encourage branch growth in specific areas should be carried out throughout the spring and summer months.

In those instances where the trees were deemed beyond reasonable repair, sadly, they had to be taken down.

If I recall correctly, most of the trees lining the street near Nonna's were bradford pears. Bradford pears fared extremely poorly in the storm. Many were shattered completely because of the way their branches form. Imagine if you will a broomlike structure turned upside down. The broom strands are soft and weak. If they take on weight such as that from the ice, they will break. Bradford pears not only lost branches, but some split right down the trunk.

Bradford pears are popular because they have a beautiful shape, lovely blooms in the spring (which stink to high heaven), are rather inexpensive compared to other tree varieties, and are relatively fast growers. However, they have their obvious downfalls. Most of the trees that weathered the storm well tend to be slow growers that are not as popular among developers because they take so long to establish.

Local forestry experts are calling on people to have a lot of patience with regard to our urban forests right now. They sustained an incredible amount of damage, and it will take several growing seasons for trees to come back. Some will not, and in fact, throughout the spring, as trees begin to leaf out (again taking weight on the branches), we'll most likely see more branches hanging that will need to be pruned. These branches may have sustained damage to the "internal" structure of the branch; damage that was not immediately obvious at the time the first round of pruning took place.

In a way, it's like a person having to be rushed to the emergency room after an accident or some kind of major trauma. The first priority is to fix any damage the patient may have sustained by the accident, the patient's health being the #1 priority. Later, as necessary, the plastic surgeon will come in and take care of the "aesthetics."

I hope this puts things in some perspective.

This pisses me off royally. I loved that stretch of shaded sidewalk. It was one of the oldest parts of Bricktown as a working district. It had a very mature feel. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure those trees were FINE after the storm. I would have noticed if otherwise. It looks HORRIBLE now. Who has the right to rip them down? The owners of the adjacent buildings?

Frittergirl, will there be any trees planted on the canal anytime soon to replace the ones lost to the storm?

Having witnessed Bradford Pear limbs break off and damage cars on that very street in Bricktown, I think the ice storm may have been a blessing in disguise. When the trees grow back it will be several years before the limbs get large enough to cause damage when they break. Proper pruning can prevent future breakages. Trees are incredibly resilient. However I would prefer the BPs be ripped out entirely and replaced with more substantial varieties. It may take a while, but it will be worth it.

I agree jbrown, I'm not a tree expert, but I didn't notice any significant damage in this area after the ice storms. Heck it's been 4 months since the ice-storm and they still looked fine. I agree with a seasonal pruning or trimming, but to flat out butcher them for no apparent reason is absurd. Ruined one of the best characteristics of the original Bricktown. Now almost all of Bricktown looks new and fake.

They also ripped out the trees along the north side of the County Courthouse (on R.S. Kerr) and more recently they ripped out the ones on the east plaza right across from the Park Harvey. Those even had the fancy grates around them and there's no sign that they are replanting any.

Many of the trees that were damaged by the ice storm even if the limb damage was minimal, there is disease that sets in with the exposed broken limbs. A diseased tree usually needs to be cut down or the tree has a chance to fall.

I have properties in Okc and had to cut down many many trees where the visual damage was minimal but disease had gotten in to areas of broken limbs caused by the ice storm. The bradford pear tree seemed to be affected the most.

They also had to cut down a lot of trees on OU's campus as well do to possible disease. I'm sure they would not just rip out trees for no reason.

Well in the case of my last post, it was every single tree in those two locations. It looked like a lazy "just rip 'em all out" kind of thing to me. They could have left ones that were okay.

I would guess that they all were infected with disease. I seriously doubt that downtown Okc would want to lose any trees.

Apparently.

Not all damage is "visible." Several trees sustained internal damage (cracks, internal branch twisting) that was not immediately visible to the naked eye. As trees started to take on their spring growth - adding weight to their branches - they started to sag, or turn brown, both indicators of internal damage. You still see much of this out now.

In fact, it is likely our urban forest will sustain additional damage (not unlike an aftershock of an earthquake), because of this earlier "unseen" damage.

As has also been noted, trees that are damaged, even minimally, can be highly susceptible to disease. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Once again, this "butchering" may have a very valid reason, to the mind of an experienced arborist. It can also be the sign of an inexperienced arborist.

City crews worked on collecting fallen branches immediately after the storm in order to restore traffic flow, including flow on the sidewalks. They also took care of hanging and severely damaged branches, which posed a potential danger to people walking the area. They obviously did the same for City parks.

Hazard mitigation is very much a "cut and run" type of operation. There is no easy solution. If you would read my detailed post, above, you can at least get some idea as to how decisions were made immediately after the storm.

The City is working with local community groups, and the State Department of Forestry, to determine a long-term course action for replacing much of our forests. Our urban forest has been forever changed. Trees take time to grow, and not all trees are right for Oklahoma's extreme conditions. We learned that with the Bradford pears, which were all but obliterated in certain areas.

Property owners in Bricktown and in other parts of downtown are responsible for the trees on their properties, including the areas you cited. I cannot determine how or why they made their decisions.

If you are as concerned as you have indicated, you are always welcome to make a donation to the OKC Tree Bank, and/or OKC Beautiful, who are both working with the City and other local organizations to help restore the City's urban forests.

I trust that the City knows what it's doing on this. Not so much with Bricktown property owners.

Hi Frittergirl, You are so knowledgeable on these subjects. Do you work for the parks department?

Drove into Bricktown yesterday (looking at Block 42, Centennial and all the others on the Move Up tour) and saw there were new trees where the butchered ones were removed. On a personal note, I didn't mind these were removed as I find the front of the buildings they covered very interesting and unique from the rest. I understand people wanting more trees in Bricktown though.

I think Bradford pears are generally ill-suited to Oklahoma. Sure they grow fast, etc., but they don't seem to hold up to Oklahoma weather very well. I hope whoever's in charge considers a hardier sort of tree next time.

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..you are making my baby Bradford Pear sad!

Yeah, they were recently replaced with a much better tree that will look much better and be much stronger in the long run.

Thank the ice storms for getting rid of the Bradford Pears.

They're the Randy Hogan of trees!

BTW, speaking of trees (and Bradford Pears), the McD's on 23rd & Broadway makes me cringe with their hack job.