Increase in on street tree felling

thunderdog · 08-03-2019 9:48pm #1

Hi has anyone else noticed the increase in the number of trees the councils are cutting down? I’m in a West Dublin estate and at least 30% of the trees have been cut down recentlyapprox 50 trees throughout the estate. Does anyone know what is driving this?

recedite · 10-03-2019 12:46pm

Probably bus and cycle routes.

A total of 232 car parking spaces will be lost on these four corridors, and 514 trees removed. However, they will result in faster journey times on 57 bus services.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/hundreds-to-lose-part-of-their-gardens-in-new-bus-connects-plan-37526675.html

In this brave new world, it seems you can't have sustainable transport and tree lined streets.

Its all about growth these days; diversity (immigration) and higher population densities (overcrowding).

embraer170 · 10-03-2019 12:50pm

Just as bad in the countryside. Roadside trees and hedgerows are disappearing at an alarming rate.

Harry Palmr · 10-03-2019 12:55pm

Lot's of trees planted in the wrong places back in the 70s and 80s - now too big and intruding so they get the chop, sometimes the entire tree needs to go, sometimes sensible pruning but we live in a time of poorly resourced councils with maybe little or no expert staffing who may have left trees to run riot and so decide to go nuclear.

recedite · 10-03-2019 2:08pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Lot's of trees planted in the wrong places back in the 70s and 80s - now too big and intruding so they get the chop, sometimes the entire tree needs to go, sometimes sensible pruning but we live in a time of poorly resourced councils with maybe little or no expert staffing who may have left trees to run riot and so decide to go nuclear.

Well there is that. Also there is an issue along country roads especially, with trees being left too long.

For example you'll often see a huge beech tree, maybe behind a wall, but overhanging a public road. These are a serious hazard, because the tree is nearing the end of its lifespan, and if/when it comes down somebody could be killed. That's, not to say the guy who planted the tree was wrong. he never intended the tree to be left for that long, he probably thought it would be harvested as valuable timber or firewood by his kid's generation. But instead, they just left it there.

We need to get back to the basic sustainable principle; Yes, you can cut down a tree, but you should then plant another one in its place.

Pie Man · 10-03-2019 8:55pm

embraer170 wrote: »

Just as bad in the countryside. Roadside trees and hedgerows are disappearing at an alarming rate.

Landowners are cutting Roadside trees to cover themselves incase they come down in a storm and someone crashes into it. As for hedgerows we do get our roadside hedges cut but let the our other hedges grow wild.

recedite · 10-03-2019 9:40pm

Pie Man wrote: »

Landowners are cutting Roadside trees to cover themselves incase they come down in a storm ..

Those who are more clued in are doing it, but its only in the last few years that the courts have decided that a tree falling is not actually an "act of god" after all.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross approved a settlement of €3.75 million against the owner of land bordering the road where the accident happened, plus a further settlement of €600,000 against Wicklow County Council.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/student-settles-for-3-75m-after-tree-fell-on-car-1.2091456

Melodeon · 12-03-2019 1:39pm

recedite wrote: »

Well there is that. Also there is an issue along country roads especially, with trees being left too long.

For example you'll often see a huge beech tree, maybe behind a wall, but overhanging a public road. These are a serious hazard, because the tree is nearing the end of its lifespan, and if/when it comes down somebody could be killed. That's, not to say the guy who planted the tree was wrong. he never intended the tree to be left for that long, he probably thought it would be harvested as valuable timber or firewood by his kid's generation. But instead, they just left it there.

We must remember too, that a beech that has survived long enough to reach its declining years was likely planted 300 odd years ago.
That's back in the early 1700's, a time when 'traffic' on the adjoining road consisted of pedestrians or people on horseback or horsedrawn wagon or cart or in a horsedrawn coach.
At that time, in stormy weather, man and beast sough shelter to wait it out and only emerged to survey the damage when the worst of the weather had passed.
The person planting those trees couldn't have possibly conceived of the notion that people would one day be using the road at speeds they couldn't comprehend, in weather conditions in which they wouldn't dream of being out and about.

thunderdog · 15-03-2019 9:33pm

I suppose my question is what is driving the cutting down of trees now? A change in policy? Pressure from insurance companies?

Birdnuts · 16-03-2019 10:48pm

Interesting Pics this evening from the Old Shannon River FB page showing heavy flooding and erosion at sites which the OPW carried out extensive tree removal and other destrutive activities under the guise of "flood prevention" in the last few months. Such primitive approaches have long been abandoned in other EU countries but the shower in charge of things here seemingly haven't moved with the times:rolleyes:

31-03-2019 9:45am

A lot of the trees on my residential road have been felled in the last couple of years - preventing the roots from cracking the pavement is the most common reason I've received.

Half-cocked · 31-03-2019 10:53am

thunderdog wrote: »

I suppose my question is what is driving the cutting down of trees now? A change in policy? Pressure from insurance companies?

Council cut down mature trees on my mothers street. When she asked why she was told the storms in recent years had caused a lot of fallen trees/ branches and it was cheaper to fell and replace older trees than to maintain them. But 6 months on there's no sign of new trees, only a row of large stumps.

fryup · 02-04-2019 6:23pm

its all to do with 5g according to the eco-warriors

Mickeroo · 02-04-2019 6:34pm

fryup wrote: »

its all to do with 5g according to the eco-warriors

Not to be confused with sane environmentally aware people.

recedite · 03-04-2019 11:09am

Mickeroo wrote: »

Not to be confused with sane environmentally aware people.

There seems to be some well qualified people behind this.
I think its fair to say that most people (and I include myself) know very little about the whole subject. And that's how the industry likes it.

magicbastarder · 03-04-2019 4:56pm

they're talking about this tree felling on drivetime at the moment.

fryup · 07-04-2019 5:54pm

any truth to this 5g connection?

dhaughton99 · 07-04-2019 6:06pm

Most mature trees in the estates beside ours have all been cut down. Supposed to be down to lifting the paths but didn’t look that way. Some of the residents tried to block them but to no avail. The strange thing was, that the estate where Pat Rabbitte lives, just down the road, hasn’t been touched.

fryup · 07-04-2019 10:06pm

hmmmmm

kildare lad · 10-04-2019 6:59pm

thunderdog wrote: »

I suppose my question is what is driving the cutting down of trees now? A change in policy? Pressure from insurance companies?

I think the insurance companys offered councils cheaper insurance to cut down trees due to the high winds we've had over the last few years. But as usual , they cut down everything. I fear humans will have a serious case of karma , coming to us in the next 100 years for the damage were doing to this planet

kildare lad · 10-04-2019 7:01pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Lot's of trees planted in the wrong places back in the 70s and 80s - now too big and intruding so they get the chop, sometimes the entire tree needs to go, sometimes sensible pruning but we live in a time of poorly resourced councils with maybe little or no expert staffing who may have left trees to run riot and so decide to go nuclear.

The council's have plenty of staff, just no experts among them . 7 fellas looking into a hole, that's the council for you

fryup · 10-04-2019 10:20pm

kildare lad wrote: »

The council's have plenty of staff, just no experts among them . 7 fellas looking into a scratching their hole, that's the council for you

:cool:

magicbastarder · 06-05-2019 7:07pm

was passing st. canice's GNS in finglas village earlier.
this is what it looked like for the last few years:

and this is what it looks like today:

there was some work being done on the trees a couple of months back, looked like some not too heavy trimming. but today they'd just finished clear felling all of the trees, which were mature pines.
right in the middle of nesting season.
as it's on school grounds, i doubt the council were involved in any way.

edit: the phoenix magazine has repeated the claim that the reported increase in tree felling is driven by insurance companies:

https://twitter.com/OrlaGleans/status/1124972893257990144

Del.Monte · 06-05-2019 7:57pm

Those trees were in now way dangerous and far to small to be tumbled in a storm and the school should be ashamed of themselves - what sort of example is that to show the children?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 06-05-2019 7:58pm

Del.Monte wrote: »

Those trees were in now way dangerous and far to small to be tumbled in a storm and the school should be ashamed of themselves - what sort of example is that to show the children?

And they'll probably proudly fly their Green Flags.

magicbastarder · 06-05-2019 8:22pm

would it be the council who would have issued the felling licences? or would they have needed felling licences, where they were?

magicbastarder · 07-05-2019 10:28am

i've emailed the school to ask why it was done. i suspect the email may reach someone who was not involved or has much knowledge of why, so i'm not holding out much hope.

baaba maal · 09-05-2019 3:06pm

Louis Slimy Battalion wrote: »

And they'll probably proudly fly their Green Flags.

I had a look at their website and to be fair, there is no mention of the school being in the Green Schools programme. I happen to work with schools on this programme (I'm not in An Taisce) and I think it is a bit unfair to link this tree-felling to the one scheme in the country that actually tries to instill environment awareness in children. I'm not claiming that the scheme is perfect, but it certainly helps and I have seen some schools really change how they operate in terms of waste, biodiversity, energy and so forth from being involved in the scheme.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 09-05-2019 4:04pm

baaba maal wrote: »

I had a look at their website and to be fair, there is no mention of the school being in the Green Schools programme. I happen to work with schools on this programme (I'm not in An Taisce) and I think it is a bit unfair to link this tree-felling to the one scheme in the country that actually tries to instill environment awareness in children. I'm not claiming that the scheme is perfect, but it certainly helps and I have seen some schools really change how they operate in terms of waste, biodiversity, energy and so forth from being involved in the scheme.

All I'll say is, I can assure you they are involved in Green Flags and fly one beside the National Flag. I too work with several schools on aspects of the Green Flag Programme.

Keplar240B · 09-05-2019 10:20pm

The trees would protect the children from air pollution.

Tails142 · 09-05-2019 10:24pm

Trees cost a lot of money to get cut down, it's a sign the boom is back and more boomier than ever, rip trees

Increase in on street tree felling

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