"When a tree falls: A look at the daunting task of maintaining a city's urban canopy"

Jill Mahoney and Leyland Cecco

2017-11-12

Globe and Mail

Keywords: Urban Forest, Tree Maintenance, Tree-Related Injuries, Toronto Urban Canopy, Proactive Tree Pruning, Reactive Tree Management, Tree Risk Assessment

Toronto, which bills itself as "a city within a park," is facing sweeping challenges in caring for its trees, with pressure from all sides. With a chronic budget crunch, the city admits it is not pruning public trees as often as its own experts recommend and acknowledges that it relies heavily on residents to report possibly dangerous trees.

The article "When a tree falls: A look at the daunting task of maintaining a city’s urban canopy" by Jill Mahoney and Leyland Cecco explores the challenges Toronto faces in managing its extensive urban forest and preventing tree-related injuries. The city's 4.1 million trees provide significant environmental benefits but also pose risks due to falling branches and limbs. The article details several incidents where falling tree limbs injured or killed individuals, raising questions about the city's tree management practices. Toronto's urban forestry department struggles with budget constraints, leading to a reliance on reactive rather than proactive tree maintenance. The article also discusses the complexities of tree risk assessment and the difficulties in predicting which trees will fail. Factors such as previous branch shedding, deadwood, and tree species' characteristics can indicate potential hazards, but even seemingly healthy trees can lose limbs unexpectedly. The city's response to these incidents includes investigations, policy changes, and increased public awareness. However, critics argue that more proactive measures and funding are needed to ensure public safety and maintain the urban canopy effectively.

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Tags: Urban Forestry, Public Safety, Tree Management, Climate Change, Urban Green Spaces, Ecosystem Management, Urban Development