Eugene Tree Foundation - Laserfiche WebLink

New Search

Dennis Lueck, M.S. Horticulturist and Naturalist 26 February 1998 Mayor Jim Torrey City Hall 777 Pearl Street Eugene, Oregon 97401 Dear Jim: Last summer, at your request, I met with you to discuss a variety of issues regarding trees and other vegetation within our community. During our meeting, you expressed concern that, as infill and development continue within Eugene's Urban Growth Boundary, there is Tess and less space for the trees and other vegetation that we know are essential to our human community's collective health and well- being. Indeed, with each additional square foot of land that is built on or paved over, there is a consequent loss of one square foot of soil in which plants can grow. One way to help compensate for these losses is by uncovering areas that have already been paved over and where the pavement serves no useful purpose. What I am suggesting is that we begin to remove pavement, where practical, from our streets, parking lots, and driveways and return those areas to life- giving trees and other vegetation. For example, I am currently involved in the Broadway /Charnelton project downtown. Initial drawings showed buildings and pavement covering the entire project area except for tiny "tree wells" along Broadway in which a few trees would be planted. However, by working with project architects in an effort to provide for more plant life in our downtown, we have been able to add to the site several thousand square feet of planting areas just by eliminating unnecessary sidewalks and paved plaza areas. But that's just one small step in the right direction, on a single project where earlier decisions precluded making substantial changes so late in the process. Fortunately, there are many other opportunities throughout our community for these kinds of improvements, even in the heavily built -up and paved -over downtown core. Along Willamette Street, for example, between 11th and 13th Avenues, extensive portions of the central turn pocket (middle lane) serve no purpose and could be unpaved and planted with trees, shrubs, and groundcovers that would help revivify that mostly lifeless two -block section (see Figure 1). Just to the west, along Olive Street between 12th and 13th, the same thing could be done. And along the stretch of Willamette Street between 13th and 18th, where the two southbound travel lanes are unusually wide (and conducive to speeding), that street could be converted back to two -way traffic (like Olive and Willamette Streets between 8th and 10th Avenues). The lanes could then be narrowed and the curbs moved in several feet (toward the street's centerline), creating planting areas or park strips along each side of the street. Alternatively, an ample median or boulevard strip could be provided down the center (see Figure 2). Even the embarrassingly bleak block of Willamette Street between 10th and 11th Avenues provides several opportunities for pavement removal. Where curbs are already painted yellow and parking is prohibited anyway, the existing curb could just be moved out the width of a parking space, thus creating a suitable planting area for trees and shrubs. To protect the soil and the vegetation, all plantng areas in the downtown core really need to be surrounded by a sturdy protective railing, as we plan to do at the Broadway /Charnelton site. Experience elsewhere in our community (e.g., at the 5th and Blair plantings) shows how effective simple barriers can be. 360 Owosso Drive Eugene, Oregon 97404 -2631 USA Telephone (541) 689 -6215