Fifteen oak trees in the 100 and 200 blocks of Main Street in Little Rock were reduced to stumps Saturday as part of a project to improve water runoff in the downtown corridor.
But, according to Jimmy Moses of Moses Tucker Real Estate, the cutting was halted by Mayor Mark Stodola to discuss with Main Street property owners the possibility of saving the remaining trees.
Stodola was out of town Saturday and did not return a phone call seeking comment.
“I hope that we can persuade the city to modify their landscape plan and save the trees. I think that would be in the community’s best interest,” Moses said.
Saturday’s work was just the beginning of a months-long $1.6 million project that will eliminate trees between the 100 and 500 blocks of Main Street and replace them with plants that aid in water filtration.
Excess street water is typically guided by curbs into drainage openings that then send it into a body of water with no filtration. The new green infrastructures allow for more of that water to be soaked up and filtered in a number of ways.
Moses said he was aware that some trees would be cut down, but that he was “floored” to see how many had been removed Saturday. He said that in the past, as plans for the project developed, he had argued against cutting down the trees, which are between 25 and 30 years old.
Joan Adcock, at-large city director, said Saturday that the city had received no complaints about the tree removals, to her knowledge. She added that she would understand if there were complaints because those who planted the trees are “very protective” of them and nurtured them for years.
Assistant City Manager Bryan Day said that this is not the first time the city has replaced trees in urban areas. In the 1980s, the city planted Bradford pears that were eventually replaced because, as it turned out, they were “not appropriate for the street,” he said.
“We’ve learned, as cities and counties have done urban projects, that we’ve made mistakes in the past and put the wrong kinds of trees in,” he said.
He, too, said he didn’t know of any complaints about the Main Street tree removals but, he said, “Change, sometimes, is hard.”
Stodola previously told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the project is an opportunity to beautify Main Street, in addition to improving water quality.
The project, which is expected to take several months, is mostly funded by a $900,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant. In addition to the trees being replaced, other installations include plant beds designed to remove silt and pollution, a vegetative wall that intercepts and dissipates heat, and porous pavement designed to allow water through.
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 03/30/2014