Tree mystery solved

Press, 13 September 1988, Page 5

Tree mystery solved

By

SUZANNE KEEN

Christchurch drivers can rest assured that the yellow crosses and dots marked on some Fitzgerald Avenue trees are not part of a peculiar game of noughts and crosses.

The Christchurch City Council yesterday solved the mystery of the crosses which have appeared on 17 trees between Worcester Street and Kilmore Street.

The deputy general manager (parks), Mr Ron

Dally, said the works department would soon be altering the road on this section of the avenue and the marks indicated the trees that would probably need to be removed for the improvements.

The removal of the 12 planes and five birch will enable the construction of right-turning bays in the median. Small trees affected by the work will be transplanted elsewhere, probably in the median. Mr Dally said that to retain as many trees as

possible pot holing had been done to locate roots and special kerbing would be laid to minimise root damage. In addition to the trees removed for the construction of the turning bays, the council plans to thin out the rest of the birch in an alternate pattern (marked with a dot) creating enough room for oak trees to be planted in the gaps during the 1989 planting season. “Many of the birch in the Chester Street to Ar-

magh Street section of the median are now overmature and showing signs of deterioration,” Mr Dally said.

“Urban trees in New Zealand have a much shorter life than their European counterparts due to a growth rate greater than their European habitat.”

When the remaining birch have to be felled, the oaks will have grown to a significant size and the impact on the landscape will be minimised.