If you were out walking, running, or biking Queen Anne Boulevard this morning, you may have heard the ruckus around Bigelow Ave N and Lynn St, where a work crew were trimming one of the historic Boulevard trees – and trimming is using a loose definition of the word.
There were chainsaws and wood-chippers attacking one of our historic Boulevard trees, with no care to the history or shape of the tree.
Now, these trees do run along power lines, so proper trimming is necessary. However, the poor tree that was subjected to trimming this morning got more than a simple haircut.
Instead of using precise cuts to protect the 80+ year old tree, the crew hacked away at it with chainsaws, cutting out a large right-angle chunk from the tree’s canopy. Honestly, it looks awful and is a terrible loss to our historic street – which is also a City of Seattle park.
We’ve notified the City of Seattle arborists, and while the damage cannot be undone, let’s hope it can be prevented in the future. If you see work crews trimming (or, let’s be honest, hacking away at) historic trees, contact the City of Seattle arborist at 206.684.TREE (8733).
And, let’s hope this doesn’t happen again.