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July 21, 2015

Last chance for Møllegade

It is the last chance for the 14 trees on the corner of Møllegade and Guldbergsgade, on Nørrebro. Since we last talked about them, we had a drama by Nørrebros Runddel (with a happy outcome, fortunately) and a nice mention in Magasinet Kbh, and our group has grown. For those not acquainted with the case of the 14 trees, here is a brief recap:

The city has a plan to break down the wall and “open up” the corner of Møllegade and Guldbergsgade. They plan to move the kindergarten to the other side, fell 14 big and viable trees and make a tile square with a bike lane through it all. Copenhagen is already low on trees and the borough of Nørrebro hits an all-time low in square meters of nature per citizen. That is established by the city itself in 2009. This is why a plan should incorporate more than 3 out of 17 existing trees.

Unable to influence the process, we have been watching it from the sideline, while the layouts turned still more grey. All under the pretext that the trees were sick. A select group of citizens with no real say, had no choice but to accept the fellings, under these circumstances. By the time we had the trees inspected by an expert, the story changed: the trees were not sick anyway. But now the plan was set, and the citizens properly “heard”.

Without the trees on the corner, noise will be enhanced, the wind conditions change and the temperature on the square will increase during the summer, and decrease during the winter. Less trees also means more problems with humidity and flooding in nearby basements. And, besides the beauty and calm the trees bring to the neighborhood, the particle pollution are bound to increase and the air quality plummet. We can't afford to lose these threes.

According to the city management, the plans will be submitted for political approval in August 2015. As a last chance to be heard, we have launched a petition ending on July 31st. To be delivered to the politicians, who are making the final decision.

On a practical scale, this is what we need: help to copy fliers, for the neighborhood. If anyone has access to a copier, drop us a line, and we take it from there. It is also possible to print out the flyer and post it yourself.

Everyone who wants the city trees preserved should, regardless of where they live, sign the petition. The urban nature is a baton, handed to us by previous generations of Copenhageners, we simply can't drop it at this point.




Previous posts on Møllegade, latest first:

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