Right now, the city is felling trees on both sides of Åboulevarden, from the lakes towards Blågårdsgade. They have been on the radar for a while, and I have repeatedly been in touch with the park manager about the dying and tormented trees on that stretch.
The trees have impossible living conditions: the plantholes are concrete bathtubs so stunting for the growth that the trunks on the biggest trees are square (!). They have sustained salt damages, the soil is deprived of nutrients and they are constantly hit by buses, tearing trunk and branches to pieces. These conditions are hopeless for anything living. Still, a row of trees have been given a chance to survive. Let’s see to it that they get protected from saltdamages, come winter.
On the bright side, citizens are keeping a vigilant eye on the urban trees, calling and writing the city about the trees. That is exactly how it should be! They need to know that the trees are important to us, and that we will not accept them being cut down for invalid reasons.
In late August the park manager wrote with an update on the upcoming plans for Åboulevarden. Here is the mail, shared with consent:
******
Dear Sandra,
You have asked about dead/dying trees on Nørrebro, among others trees on Åboulevarden and Nørre Allé. This year we have the opportunity to prioritize exchanging those in the poorest condition, and replace them with new green trees.
On Åboulevarden nine withering linden trees will be replaced with elm trees. We are short on those, as the elm disease took them all out years back, but now there is a new elm that is not attacked by the deadly fungus, and experience from Amager, among other places, proves them to do well along busy streets like Åboulevarden.
Fortunately, some of the trees on Åboulevarden are doing okay, and those we are going to keep. They need pruning for dead branches, which will be done over the fall and winter as regular upkeep, so hopefully they will be able to do fine for a while.
On Nørre Allé (stretch between Skt. Hans Torv and Frederiks Bajers Plads) five dead linden trees will be replaced with new linden trees. Some of the trees have dead branches, which will be pruned during the fall and winter, in the hopes they will produce a nice and full bloom next year.
Feel free to contact me again, if you have any questions in that regard.
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(end of mail)
Pictures from today, the last two are from the park manager, of Åboulevarden trees to be felled.
An embarrassment of a planting hole. If you can even call it that. Compare with how much space is allocated for cars? Disgraceful!
Withered tree on Åboulevarden, zero planting hole, no protection from traffic or salting, in the wintertime. By the way: Denmark is the only European country still salting the roads.
Photo: park manager.
Tormented tree on Åboulevarden, as observed by the park manager (photographer).
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