Jubilee on Blegdamsvej

Today we celebrate a jubilee of the three first street trees in the city's road work on Blegdamsvej.  It has been exactly one month since they had their vital roots cut, and they have since been left exposed under a layer of plastic. This is the equivalent of killing the trees. Roots so close to the tree must not be cut. And exposed roots need to stay moist, if you can't provide soil immediately. This is common knowledge by anyone who works with trees.

There are plenty of strong and dedicated people in the city, who know about trees. But they are obviously not consulted during planning and coordination, and they are not present during roadwork near trees. It is an administrative disaster! If the city administration don't see a problem here, they are a part of it.

Dressed for the occasion, ready for execution. Same tree in 2013, mentioned here.

This is the tree that was hit by a truck in 2016. Left unattended for six weeks and plenty of desperate pleas for help, before they cut the wound clean. By that time someone pulled the branch from below, increasing the damage.

Same project in the opposite end of Blegdamsvej. The area below the crown of the tree cannot under any circumstances be used for storing heavy concrete and equipment. The soil suffers compression, the roots are deprived of oxygen and the branches die.

On the bright side they seem to have found a gentler way to remove the stone, with minimal disturbance to the roots in the too small plant beds. Maybe making noise really does make a difference?

The jubilarians. I asked one of the bricklayers when they planned to give the trees soil? "I don't know... when we are done?"