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( *Urban Data Service Report, International City Management Association, Volume <br /> 14, Number 1 ) <br /> As you can see from the figures above, the City of Eugene is just over half <br /> the man power for tree care as compared to other municipalities. This limits <br /> our activities to primarily responding to citizen complaints /requests. This <br /> past year (1993), during the summer months, we were running six to eight weeks <br /> behind in our customer requests. While this is not a new problem it is one <br /> which needs to be addressed with the ageing population of trees and the <br /> likelihood of tree failure. <br /> Tree failure is not a problem we will have to face in the future, it is a <br /> problem we have dealt with for a number of years already. There hasn't been a <br /> lot of attention drawn to it, (with the exception of the death on Jefferson), <br /> because many of the incidents that have happened have not caused property <br /> damage or personal injury. I would like to cite some of the more signifigant <br /> ones here: <br /> 1. December 1, 1993. At the intersection of llth Street and Washington <br /> Street (1104 Washington), a section of a Catalpa tree broke free from the <br /> trunk and landed in the center of the west lane of Washington, blocking <br /> both lanes. The section weighed approximately 1500 pounds. This <br /> intersection is controlled by a stop light and traffic is regularly <br /> stopped at the site the limb fell. <br /> 2. September, 1991. On the southwest corner of 13th and Charnelton, a <br /> Cedar tree broke off, dropping the top 30 feet of the tree onto <br /> Charnelton. This portion of the tree had a diameter of 16 inches. <br /> The tips of the branches toward the top of the broken part brushed <br /> a vehicle stopped at the traffic light. <br /> 3. June, 1991. On Cheshire Street, East of 210 Cheshire, an Oak tree <br /> Measuring 32 inches at chest height, Broke off at the base and completely <br /> blocked Cheshire. The weight of this tree was in the tons. As we (John <br /> Luther and Adrian Stansfield) were clearing the street a lady stopped to <br /> tell us that she had driven by the tree as it was coming down and, <br /> "the limbs literally hit my car ". <br /> 4. September 1990. On llth, East of Hilyard, a large Maple limb, measuring <br /> 14 inches, fell across East llth. This limb fell in between cars that <br /> were stopped for the traffic light. The limb fell across three lanes of <br /> traffic. <br /> 5. April 1989. A large section of a Maple tree, located at 377 West 8th, <br /> broke from the tree coming to rest on a small roofed area above the main <br /> entrance. This tree portion had an approximate weight of four tons <br /> and was removed from the building with a 20 ton crane. <br /> The five examples listed above involve large portions of trees that have a <br /> weight of over 1000 pound. We have documented 125 other "near misses" over <br /> the past 5 years that involve limbs, trees and portions of trees that are a <br /> little less dramatic, but have the potential of being very costly. To <br /> demonstrate this in words, I have personally seen, in the past six months, <br /> limbs with a diameter of two inches or less, penetrate the windshield of cars <br />