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DON B1SIIOIT
<br /> HEY ARE gorgeous trees. Three are
<br /> near the riverbank. The biggest, farther
<br /> d witl c back, has four separate trunks totaling
<br /> more t h C than 6 feet in diameter.
<br /> y "If I point it out, you'd say that's a really
<br /> significant tree," Larsen said. "But it's one of
<br /> 80 more trees three or four dozen, and after we cut it there
<br /> will still be a forest of three to four dozen
<br /> here."
<br /> VEN AT THE RISK of being an alarm And 12 more will be planted there, he said.
<br /> E ist, I think I should mention that the city There's bunch only about big old cottonwood, along
<br /> Eugene is planning to cut down anoth- with a bunch of about 30 skinny younger trees,
<br /> to be cut where the bike bridge will hit the
<br /> er 80 trees for another big pro ect.
<br /> river's south bank. The balance of the 80
<br /> And there may be another protest. doomed trees are around the ends of the car
<br /> The trees are to be felled as part of the $23 bridge and in the Coburg Road median, which
<br /> million project to upgrade the Ferry Street will be severed to let Centennial Boulevard traf
<br /> Bridge and its environs. The chain - sawing will fic onto Coburg's southbound lanes.
<br /> start sometime after this coming Sunday. The city hired arborist Nathaniel Sperry to
<br /> But, no, not on Sunday. So we may be help decide which trees had to go, Larsen said,
<br /> spared a repeat of the Sunday, June 1, Broad- adding. "We're only taking out trees we think
<br /> way & Charnelton debacle, in which the city at- necessary to complete the construction."
<br /> tempted to quickly and quietly clear -cut 40 All well and good. But none of the multitude
<br /> mostly magnificent old trees and ended up with of project public hearings, workshops, open
<br /> a real mess. houses or City Council presentations in the
<br /> However, I see few similarities between the past year has detailed the tree-cutting — most -
<br /> downtown tree slaughter and what's planned ly, Larsen said, because the details weren't
<br /> along the Ferry Street Bridge corridor. Even known until recently in the fast -track project.
<br /> though more trees are to be cut, the impact Yet one cause of the downtown debacle, I
<br /> should be a lot less. think, was that much of the public didn't real -
<br /> "There are about 390 ize beforehand how much tree - cutting was go-
<br /> trees in the corridor be- ing to happen there. So, if I were in charge of
<br /> fore we start construe- the Ferry Street Bridge project, the first thing I
<br /> tion," said Tom Larsen, would have done after June 1 would be to call a
<br /> �, project manager � P - manage big public meeting.
<br /> r t' city. "A total of 313 are I would have shown all my tree- cutting
<br /> "x r stay about 80 will be plans — and let the public talk. In this town,
<br /> -' ' removed and we're going you can never go wrong holding meetings, giv-
<br /> '_ - to be planting 550.
<br /> �, � � _° , A majority of the ing people information — and listening.
<br /> '
<br /> It wouldn't have pacified militants such as
<br /> i trees to be cut are small. Johnston. But it would have given the city the
<br /> . , • Most of the big ones are high ground.
<br /> �', ., cottonwoods, not However, Larsen said "With the newsletters
<br /> b 4, downtown's big leaf ma- and the contact we've had in the community, I
<br /> pies. think that we've been fairly open about what
<br /> I don't want to sound calloused, but if we we're doing. For example, I posted the (cutting)
<br /> have a surplus of anything, it's cottonwood notices on this side of the river before Art &
<br /> trees down by the river. the Vineyard, the largest event to date in the
<br /> Cuts no ice with local tree activist James park.
<br /> Johnston, who belongs to Southern Willamette "There's nothing to stop a competing ar-
<br /> Earth First and Cascadia Forest Defenders. He borist from arm- wrestling my arborist one -on-
<br /> said word of the planned cuts has been spread- one if there's a tree we're proposing to take out
<br /> ing among anti-cutting groups. that someone perceives as not necessary — and
<br /> "I expect there will be some sort of protest," I think (we have) the flexibility to also change
<br /> he said Tuesday when I asked. "They're cutting the situation."
<br /> down trees to make room for more cars. That's So, maybe I worry too much. After all, Lars -
<br /> unacceptable to any sane public planning. en said my call Tuesday was only the second
<br /> But, ironically, the first four trees will go to he's had since cutting notices went up.
<br /> make room not for cars, but for a new bicycle I hope that's good news.
<br /> bridge just upstream from the car bridge. The '7 - 14- T
<br /> trees are in the developed part of Alton Baker
<br /> Park on the north bank of the Willamette River. To contact Don Bishoff, call GuardLine, 485 -
<br /> The new bicycle suspension bridge — which 2000 and enter category 3828. His e-mail address is
<br /> will be about as tall as the Ferry Street Bridge dbishoff@guardnet.com.
<br /> itself — will come down to earth in the middle
<br /> of a grove of cottonwoods, near where bicyclists
<br /> now come down a ramp from the car bridge in-
<br /> to the park. Larsen walked me through the
<br /> grove Tuesday morning, pointing out four cot-
<br /> tonwoods with the red notices tacked to them,
<br /> spelling their impending doom.
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