A new arborist’s report has emerged about the safety of Newcastle’s Laman Street fig trees.
Unlike previous studies by Newcastle Council, this one claims the trees pose very little danger to public safety, and describes other reports as illogical and wrong.
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Naughty Naughty trying to dupe our Cr’s & remove the communities Fig Trees based on fibs. Surely Councillors are entitled to vote based on facts, not fanciful risk statistics. & Arent these Trees heritage listed & or on a significant Tree register? Was risk the only excuse NCC could come up with to satisfy other agendas? This whole fiasco needs urgent independent assessment & Councillors should call for this matter to be revisited & reviewed now that this new evidence has come to light.
Would it now be against the law for Council to remove these trees since it has been exposed that the information they used was so wrong?
Come on NCC – time to rethink this tragedy you are planning on wasting a huge wad of ratepayers money on! Instead- Let’s celebrate the beautiful asset this avenue of trees is, a centre point of Newcastle’s attractions. Let’s be proud of the ambiance the trees bring to the cultural precinct and market this unique piece of our urban environment. Council, councillors time to rescind the motion and SAVE OUR TREES.
I think people should read the actual reports and make their own judgements based on the facts and findings in the reports, rather then just listening to one news article and thinking they know the whole story.
If you read the reports and read the findings which were undertaken by several different independent Arborists you will find that the trees are, in extreme circumstances, a high risk of failing, as some trees already have. That’s what happens when there’s underground services, buildings, roads and footpaths built around trees, existing roots get chopped, there’s nowhere for new roots to go, and no roots to help support the trees.
Would you like to be held responsible for the trees being retained and then when they fail and destroy cars, buildings and perhaps even take someone’s life, be liable for all of that?
It’s one thing to want the trees to stay as they are beautiful, it’s another thing to end up on the wrong side of a lawsuit when a life is taken because the advice of a highly qualified Arborist was ignored.
People should use their brains, and not be so biased. A qualified Arborist does what they do because they love trees, not because they want to remove trees. There is scientific evidence supporting the reasons for removal, and just because this nobody, who has written an inflammatory report, is on the news saying there’s no visible signs people think this is the truth, there’s plenty of tests which are carried out to determine the extent of non-visible signs, you can’t see underground or into the middle of the trunk with your eyes…….
So, lay off people, until you’ve read the reports or spoken to the Arborists who have actually written the reports. There have been plenty of public council meetings with the Arborists present to explain their findings. Perhaps it’s time to say goodbye to the figs and start planning a new avenue of trees, one day they will fall, as all trees do, but if you have time to plan and do everything safely for a beautiful future wouldn’t that be a better option?
Its always a shame to lose beautiful trees such as these, however we have to remove ourselves from the emotion and consider the facts and the risk. These trees have, sadly, not been managed and the roots have been cut and severed close to the root plate several times to allow for services to be installed along the roads and footpaths.
As a horticulturist I’ve considerable experience with tree failures and I can tell you that when the structural roots of a tree are compromised they don’t simply grow back. The roots of the tree grow at the same rate as the tree canopy does, and since these trees are already over-mature, there is not much more to be seen in the overall tree growth, thus the tree roots will not magically regenerate themselves. People often forget its the roots that are anchoring the tree to the soil. Damaged or missing roots combined with high winds equal fallen trees.
Just because trees look ‘healthy’ with lots of new growth, this does not mean that the trees are actually in good health. Epicormic and excessive growth and flowering can actually indicate extreme stress, not good health. Think of Eucalyptus after bush fires… they produce all that extra growth because they think they are dying, not because they are healthy.
I think it is wise to review the already prepared independent arborist reports and review their recommendations before making up your mind based on one inflamatory news article.
Like all living things trees die and we need to plan for the eventual removal of these trees and minimise the risk to the property and people in this public space. I love trees too but we must consider their value not just in an amenity sense, but also from the point of safety. I’m sure if this tree was in your back yard and dropping limbs you would want it removed before it damaged you or your loved one.
Dennis Marsden said the trees’ only problem was their alleged lack of roots; council then hid the radar report that said the trees had roots.Mr Marsden based his assumption that there were inadequate roots on the fact that whole trees failed in the PB storm when in fact council chopped three trees down for no good reason.There were no tree failures. Pictures of the lack of tree damage, acquired via a FOI request for evidence of this, in the PB storm is available at http://s901.photobucket.com/albums/ac213/craschke/Underwhelming%20storm%20damage%202007%20in%20Laman%20Street/
The QTRA assessments have been faulty and have not followed the instruction manual for QTRA. The full independent arborist’s report – the only arborist independent of council – is available at http://saveourfigs.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/laman-street-arborists-report-final-draft.pdf This reviews the previous arborist reports.
By all measn read the previous reports but read the new one too then make up your mind.