On Feb. 2, this scraggly street tree looked like it was about to lose a main limb.
Albany’s street trees were not on my mind on Jan. 28, but then I came across this broken specimen on southwest 12th Avenue, just west of Takena Street.
I noticed that the tree had split. Maybe it happened during the ice storm in the middle of the month. The tree (and I have no idea what kind it is) looked as though a big limb was about to come crashing down.
It didn’t come down, though. On Feb. 2 the limb was still up there. It hadn’t moved at all.
I parked the bike under the tree for perspective. But I would not have wanted to park a car in that spot. Just in case.
As you can see, this is on the same block as Takena School. Parents often park there waiting to pick up their kids in the afternoon. They might want to stay clear of this particular spot.
Why hasn’t the city taken down the broken part of this tree? Probably it’s because no one noticed the break or called it in.
Or maybe it’s because there are lots of trees in Albany’s urban forest and only so many hours to take care of them.
How many trees? Glad you asked. In 2022 the Albany Parks and Recreation Department commissioned an inventory of city trees in parks, and presumably along the streets as well.
The City Tree Commission got a report in October that year. “A total of 16,101 trees were inventoried and evaluated,” the minutes of that meeting say.
The City Tree Commission no longer exists. It’s been consolidated with the Parks Commission.
Now Albany has the Parks, Recreation and Tree Advisory Commission. It meets again on Wednesday, Feb. 7. One of the agenda items says “general tree issues.”
Maybe somebody can bring up this little tree on 12th. (hh)
Preserving the trees in Albany should be a priority as part of creating a healthy environment for the residents here. The city puts all the efforts in superficial projects that do not improve the quality of life here in Albany. Asking people for donations for a concrete park that is unnatural and increasing the homeless population by getting funding
to make camps and shelters that just give the homeless somewhere to hangout . Albany is becoming a homeless camp with a few nice restaurants, a park and a carousel. That should not qualify as progressive outcomes.
You can report the damage directly by calling 541-791-0157 or emailing jay.sharper@albanyoregon.gov.
The Albany Forester & Park Maintenance Manager, Rick, has been very responsive when I’ve called in tree issues at Lexington Park. His number is 541-917-7763.
There are others in the same row of trees that could use a good pruning for dead and broken branches. Not sure, but they look like they have stood for a long time.