Interesting statistics about Cincinnati's trees

[sfc_oliver]

Out of curiosity, I went to Google maps and typed in Youngstown Ohio.

People believe me we have one green city.

The picture is a little outdated you will see that Federal St is torn up and it was taken while the trees did not have leaves, But go ahead and take a look. We are not hurting for anything growing in the valley. Zoom in almost anywhere and you find something growing.

http://maps.google.com/maps?ftr=earth.promo&hl=en&utm_campaign=en&utm_medium=ha&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk-3dmfe&utm_term=google%20earth

[northside lurker]

These commercial corridors are already quite crowded.  I just don't see how adding trees is going to do anything but make the situation worse.  I don't know if you drive or not Mary, but for us drivers it is good to have unobscured visibiity.  Having a line of trees obscuring my field of vision when trying to pull out of a driveway is a safety hazard.  It is bad enough that there are signs, electric poles, posts, vehicles, pedestrians etc. already blocking my view.  The trees, as they mature will also obscure vision of commercial signage along the road.    Then there is the issue of who pays to plant trees and who maintains them.  Did you not get the memo that governments are broke and are paring down non essential services?  Planting trees along commercial districts is not an essential service. 

When will all of you get it through your hard heads that the good old days of pulling money out of thin air to do all these frivolous things are over?  We don't have the money to keep those very roads paved, and you want to divert money from that to planting trees?  This is why I get so upset. It seems like everyone has forgotten where their priorities should be.

I don't completely disagree with the rest of your post, and I'm not suggesting that the city should be building median strips and planting trees now.  But, not everyone has the same priorities.  And, just because someone else has different priorities than you, doesn't make them wrong.

[Youngstownshrimp]

I got it along time ago, over 57% of the population of YTown are entitled people, they will never get it Rick, they know no other way of life.  And yes, the handwriting is on the wall the economic colapse is eminent.  Let them eat cake and throw open the prison gates!

[Rick Rowlands]

These commercial corridors are already quite crowded.  I just don't see how adding trees is going to do anything but make the situation worse.  I don't know if you drive or not Mary, but for us drivers it is good to have unobscured visibiity.  Having a line of trees obscuring my field of vision when trying to pull out of a driveway is a safety hazard.  It is bad enough that there are signs, electric poles, posts, vehicles, pedestrians etc. already blocking my view.  The trees, as they mature will also obscure vision of commercial signage along the road.    Then there is the issue of who pays to plant trees and who maintains them.  Did you not get the memo that governments are broke and are paring down non essential services?  Planting trees along commercial districts is not an essential service. 

When will all of you get it through your hard heads that the good old days of pulling money out of thin air to do all these frivolous things are over?  We don't have the money to keep those very roads paved, and you want to divert money from that to planting trees?  This is why I get so upset. It seems like everyone has forgotten where their priorities should be.

[northside lurker]

Most of the structures along lower Mahoning Ave., even if fixed up and in perfect repair, aren't that attractive.  From my limited experience with Youngstown's other main corridors, this is mostly true for them, too.  The appeal of these streets would be greatly improved with trees - either in a median, along the sidewalks, or both.

Even when the structures are attractive, like in downtown, the right kind of trees help accentuate that architecture rather than hide it.

[Mary_Krupa]

Rick:  are you really that hard-headed?  Does everything have to be argued about?  What part of "street and curb appeal"  do you not understand?

[Rick Rowlands]

Why is it so important to have shade trees along those roads? 

[Mary_Krupa]

I knew someone would come back with that response. Yes, it is almost like an optical illusion.

When you actually get on some streets, you can see that shade trees would really help with street and curb appeal. Especially our main roads such as Midlothian, Belmont, Lincoln Knolls area, Fifth Street in Struthers, downtown Struthers, downtown Girard, Rt. 224, Youngstown-Poland Road, Market Street. Long distance views do count but so do short distance views.

[Rick Rowlands]

Must be tough seeing the downtown architecture will all those trees in the way! Next time you are on I-680 between Shirley Road and South Avenue, look out over the bluff down onto the valley.  You can hardly see any buildings at all.  Looks like a rural area.  I think if people would "see the forest for the trees" you would see that there are no shortage of trees in the City of Youngstown.

[Mary_Krupa]

"According to their 2000 Urban Tree Canopy Study, Cincinnati's tree canopy cover is currently at 37%. The city's forest revitalization program over the past 20 years has helped the city achieve this relatively high tree canopy cover by planting 40,000 street trees, 30,000 highway trees, and thousands of park trees during that time. The 2004-2024 Plan calls for additional tree plantings to help the city reach its goal of 40% tree canopy in residential areas, 25% in mixed commercial/residential, and 10% in the central business districts (Cincinnati Park Board 2004)."

I wonder if Ytown has compiled any tree statistics like these. We were named a tree city a few years ago.