Warren was in an uproar two years ago when residents learned that many of Water Street’s large old trees would have to be removed during the town’s street reconstruction project. Though they …
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Warren was in an uproar two years ago when residents learned that many of Water Street’s large old trees would have to be removed during the town’s street reconstruction project. Though they eventually came down, town officials made good this week on a promise to replace as many as possible.
Wednesday and Thursday, workers from the DPW planted some 25 trees along Water and Haile Street. The trees — Gingkos, Honey Locusts, Hawthornes, Red Buds and other species — were paid for by the town and with the proceeds from a $7,500 state grant secured by the Warren Tree Commission.
“We knew we had to replace them,” commission chairman Chuck Staton said. “They’re all appropriate trees” for the area and should fare better, long-term, than many of the older ones that came down, which in many cases had damaged sidewalks and underground utilities through the spread of root structures. The new trees shouldn’t have that issue, Mr. Staton said, as their roots won’t spread as much so close to the surface.
The America The Beautiful grant, awarded by the Rhode Island Tree Council and state DEM, covered about half of the trees planted this week, Mr. Staton said. But as officials waited for Water Street work to conclude, DPW workers concurrently started work on improvements to Haile Street. That job also required the removal of trees, so the DPW, tree commission, town planner and town manager decided to expand the planting effort to Haile.
Though the town has a tree farm off Schoolhouse Road, the trees planted this week were purchased from area nurseries and brought to Water Street by workers with Mr. Staton’s landscaping firm.
Mr. Staton said he’s glad to finally be able to “re-vegetate” Water and Haile.
“They should be good trees,” he said.