22 Eucalyptus Trees Will Get the Ax

Beginning Monday, the city will begin cutting down 22 eucalyptus trees in the city, hoping to lower the risk of branches falling on residents.

In March 1998, a 25-foot eucalyptus branch hurt two people when it fell on them and a taxicab at the corner of Main and 12th streets. Four months later, four young girls on a field trip to Central Park were injured--one seriously--when a branch collapsed on them.

The trees, growing in an area bordered by Palm and Adams avenues to the north and south, and Alabama and 12th streets to the east and west, have been identified by arborists as potential dangers.

Arborists Steve Holcomb, Alden Kelly and Frederick Roth conducted independent studies of a total of 160 mature eucalyptus trees to determine which ones will need to come down, city officials said.

The trees can reach up to 70 feet in height. The city used to prune the tops of the trees, limiting their height to 35 to 40 feet, but stopped that practice some years ago.

Arborists claim that branches that grew after topping are weaker than branches that had not been cut, and are more likely to fall.

City tree officials are also working with arborists to establish a twice-annual inspection, in January and in July, of the eucalyptus trees.