8 Flags Playscapes and City Arborist work together to save trees at Simmons Road Park

8 Flags Playscapes
October 1, 2020

We have exciting news to share. The city arborist has completed his audit, and we can now confirm that we were successful in saving 47 of the 72 trees that were originally planned and permitted to be removed during construction. That is a 65% reduction. We hope that this sets a new precedent for sensitive development in the City, and that future developers see the value in the team-oriented approach we fostered for this project.

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John Goshco
John Goshco (@guest_59075)
3 years ago

Thanks to everyone for working together towards a common goal. The park looks to be a valuable community asset.

I pass by the park site several times a week and it looks similar to the above heavily wooded picture with trees of many sizes in the area.. A question just occurred to me. At what diameter does a plant become a “tree”? Two inches? Four inches? More? When is a plant considered “brush” or whatever? Are fast-growing pine trees evaluated differently than slow-growing oaks and magnolias? Just curious as to what the professional standards are.

Benjamin Morrison
Benjamin Morrison (@guest_59076)
3 years ago
Reply to  John Goshco

Hi John, that is a good question. The answer is that the City’s Land Development Code considers anything 5″ or greater in diameter to be a “tree”

John Goshco
John Goshco (@guest_59082)
3 years ago

Thank You.

Benjamin Morrison
Benjamin Morrison (@guest_59077)
3 years ago

Much credit should also be given to Arthur Herman with the Amelia Tree Conservancy who worked along side us to find creative solutions to mitigate the impact the park has on the existing trees and understory

Jo-Ann Leimberg
Jo-Ann Leimberg (@guest_59094)
3 years ago

It’s too late of course, but I continue to wish this playground would have been placed near the Bailey Rd playing fields. There is space with no trees. It would have been helpful to families with various aged children. The Simmons Rd space could have been left as is with only a walking path added.

DAVID LOTT
DAVID LOTT(@dave-l)
3 years ago

Saving 47 trees is good, but saving the original 72 would have been even better. It will be interesting to see after a year how much usage this park gets and by whom; as well as what the incremental maintenance costs are. In many cases, more is NOT better.