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THE STRENGTH OF OUR URBAN TREES

DIRT BUSTERS - Trees help to settle out, trap and hold pollutants including dust, ash, pollen and smoke, that can damage human lungs.

HEALING POWERS - Studies show that post-operative hospital stays are shortened when patients are placed in rooms with a view of trees and open spaces.

BREATHE EASY - An acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people every day. In a year it absorbs carbon dioxide equal to the amount produced by driving your car 42,000 miles.

WARMTH - Trees provide a wind break from cold winter winds. A conifer on the northwest side of your home can cut heating bills by $75 a year.

COOLING - Air conditioning costs are about 40% lower in homes shaded by trees. Pavement in the full sun is 19 celsius degrees hotter than tree-shaded pavement.

GIMME SHELTER - Trees help create local ecosystems that provide habitat and food for birds and animals. They offer suitable mini-climates for other plants that could otherwise be absent from urban areas.

POISON CONTROL - Sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide and ozone are absorbed by the stomata in leaves and dissolved in the leaf tissue.

CLEANER WATER - Trees intercept rainwater,either reevaporating it or slowing down storm runoff, thus reducing sewer costs and stream erosion.

DOLLARS - A single tree can add 9% to the value of your home. Some studies say that well-treed properties increase 20% in value.

LESS STRESS - Trees cut noise pollution, reduce glare and benefit the human spirit. Just looking at trees can make you feel calm and relaxed.

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TREE MAINTENANCE STILL IN BUDGET LIMBO

Although the city of Hamilton currently has a backlog of 6900 outstanding complaints, councillors have again postponed a decision on whether to improve the city’s tree maintenance program.

The current policy calls for tree trimming to take place at least once every twelve years, and only applies to the 68,000 city-owned trees in the old city of Hamilton.

The accepted standard for tree maintenance is a minimum five-year cycle, with high use areas such as parks recommended for maintenance on a one to three-year cycle.

City staffer Bryan Shynal told councillors in late February that it will take “roughly a million dollars to clear the backlog and bring us back to a 12-year cycle”.

Shynal noted that at present “we have no preventive trimming program for any of the trees in our parks system”. This may explain why a tree inventory last summer found that 55% of the 150 trees in Victoria Park are in “very poor condition”.

East Hamilton councillor Chad Collins said “I probably get more calls on this than any other issue now”. Stoney Creek representative Maria Pearson said she is also “getting numerous complaints that trees are not being well maintained” and noted that trees in her ward were now getting well-established so it was important to include Stoney Creek in any new plan.

But the cost remains the sticking point. Mayor Di Ianni concluded that he didn’t know where the money might be found but “I don’t think the [tax] levy is how we fund it”.

Staff are proposing a $6.8 million five-year maintenance cycle for all 300,000 city-owned trees in the urban area of the new city.

To make the program easier for budget-weary councillors, options were presented for a two-year or a five-year phase-in. The latter would cost $1.4 million in 2005 and rise gradually to the $6.8 million a year level.

There’s also a proposal for a less expensive seven-year cycle, but Shynal warned that would likely mean that Hamilton hydro will continue to do its own trimming on its own schedule. Hydro ended their cooperative arrangements with the city last year in order to move to a five year cycle “so we have two tree trimming services in the city at the same time.”

Shynal suggested that might not be the best thing for trees. “Hydro’s interest is really in minimizing outages,” he warned, “and that may not necessarily be in alignment with making the best pruning choices for the tree.”

Most councillors didn’t commit themselves in the lengthy budget discussion, and they eventually postponed a decision until they get more precise information on liability issues.

Article condensed from CATCH News produced by Citizens at City Hall. To receive their free updates, send an email to CATCH@cogeco.ca.