Lancaster City Tree Inventory: Summary Report - Save It!

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Lancaster City – Tree Inventory and Municipal Street Tree PlanMaintenance and Planting• Crown Cleaning – 481 trees• Crown Raising – 795 trees• Crown Restoration – 10 trees• Crown Thinning – 2 trees• Horticultural Train Prune – 70 trees• Priority Reinspect – 22 trees• Removal – 268 treesOf the trees inventoried, 30% (1648 trees)were marked for maintenance. Almost halfof this maintenance is crown raising, whichreflects conflicts between tree branches andvehicular and pedestrian traffic identified inthis inventory.• Planting – 1126 trees• Stump Removal/Planting – 150 treesThis inventory identified a total of 1276planting sites. Of these potential plantingsites, 150 contain a stump from an old tree.Another 85 sites were marked as “Plantingsite – new” (indicated in the common namefield). These “new” sites are not plantingready,but require the creation of a tree pit ortrench within a sidewalk or otherwise pavedarea.Recommendation: All tree work identifiedin this section should be evaluated in thefield by the City Arborist and members of theLancaster Shade Tree Commission,prioritized, and completed in a timely fashion.If the City is not responsible for removal ormaintenance of a tree impacting publicsafety, or the public right-of-way, then lettersshould be sent to those responsible advisingthem of the condition of their tree and thework which must be completed on that tree.At the very minimum, tree removals, reinspection,and pruning of branches over 4inches in diameter (large deadwood or limbswith structural problems) should becompleted.Recommendation: All trees listed forpriority re-inspection should be identified inthe field by the City Arborist and LancasterShade Tree Commission. These treesshould be evaluated by a Certified Arboristto determine if removal, monitoring, ormaintenance is appropriate. Trees markedfor priority re-inspection, but not immediatelyreceiving maintenance, should be inspectedby the City Arborist, the Commission or theirdelegate twice a year to determinemaintenance. It is very likely that thesetrees will require removal or maintenancewithin the next few years.20
Lancaster City – Tree Inventory and Municipal Street Tree PlanHardscape DamageHardscape damage was observed primarilyamong sidewalk panels. An inventory ofdamaged sidewalks adjacent to inventoriedtrees was conducted concurrently with thetree inventory. Locations of tree-adjacentand planting site-adjacent sidewalk damagewere recorded along with an indication if thedamage was tree related. Observationsrevealed the majority of trees and plantingsites inventoried (4602), did not showsidewalk damage. Sidewalk damage wasnoted at the remaining 2157 sites, of whichall but 41 were likely the result of tree roots.• 2116 (31.3%) – Sidewalk damaged bytrees• 41 (0.6%) – Sidewalk damaged forother reasons• 4602 (68.1%) – No sidewalk damageRecommendation: All sites identified ashaving damage to sidewalks should beevaluated by the Lancaster Shade TreeCommission, the City Arborist, and/or otherappropriate municipal staff. Hardscapesposing a threat to safety should be repairedfollowing the standards and procedures ofLancaster City for this type of repair.Recommendation: Alternative materialsshould be considered along with concretewhen replacing sidewalks. Materials suchas asphalt, brick, and rubber may providesuitable alternatives to concrete. Potentialdamage by tree roots to these alternativematerials appears to occur over a smallerarea of the sidewalk surface, potentiallyreducing future repair or replacement costs.Recommendation: When sidewalks arereplaced, trees and the size of their plantingsite should be considered. Where spaceallows, rerouting of sidewalks around streettrees to provide a larger planting pit or treelawn may help reduce future lifting anddamage to sidewalk panels by tree roots. Ifsidewalks are not damaged, existing treepits should be enlarged as much as spaceallows. A minimum pit size of 5 ft. by 5 ft.,with a depth of 3 ft. with careful speciesselection is recommended. Plastic rootbarriers installed between sidewalks andnewly planted trees will help reduce futurehardscape damage. When working indowntown or other areas where planting pitsize is limited, the use of structural or otherengineered soils should be considered.Recommendation: Besides replacement,alternatives to repairing minor sidewalkdamage should be used by the City. Thesealternatives could include correct grinding oflifted portions of sidewalks and the use ofasphalt or concrete to provide interim rampsfor lifted sidewalk portions.21
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