A Downtown reader sends in pics of a row of street trees on 6 blocks of Dallas St. that were chopped down over the weekend. The trees are distinctive because most of them were planted in the actual street, not on the adjacent sidewalk. They were planted in the street between parking spaces about 6 years ago, around the same time a single-lane-wide section of sidewalk that now serves a bus stop was installed in front of the HPD headquarters building at the corner of Travis and Dallas.
Here’s a view from above of a row of stumps that sits in front of the McDonald’s at 808 Dallas St.:
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A row of stumps guarded by bollards now form a row along the south side of the street, from Austin St. to Milam.
Photos: Peter O.
Right of Way
yeah, those look way out of place. Like they shouldnt have been put there in the first place.
I’m guessing it has to do with these improvements. http://ghbcc.com/bid-announcment-shopping-district-streetscape-improvements/
I can’t find the Dallas Street Improvements document online, but the Houston Downtown District will have them. It’s a Main Street TIRZ project. There were some meetings for it back in November. http://www.mainstreettirz.com/projects.html
In the first picture, you can see a stamp of a leaf in the concrete–so were these part of some project? 6 years seems like a pretty short time frame for a street improvement that involved so much infrastructure for the trees’ wellbeing (the bollards and the metal grates).
Maybe they’re about to put in a Wendy’s?
The tree chopping should be for the reconfiguration of the “Dallas Street Retail Super Mega Awesome” plan that will include different trees. Worry not swampers, put the pitch forks down and keep your jaws off the ground.
So you get pics from some reader and because it has something to do with trees….WE MUST POST THIS IMMEDIATELY!
What are y’all, the tree police?
Context is everything. As Chris Andrews points out, this is part of the new shopping district improvements. I’m fine with notifying communities when trees are WRONGFULLY taken down, but just because some project is cutting down a tree doesn’t mean it should be posted as easy click bait. Come on Swamplot be better than that.
@I Love Heights Walmart
The trees look out of place because you haven’t seen a street like that before?
Even though it was one of the more innovative streetscape designs Houston has tried, it has been done before elsewhere. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qqHQGUI3ox8/Uc8Rr8IqM1I/AAAAAAAABBo/Hl3ynJ79MZY/s994/Barcelona_st.jpg
More info on Dallas Street: http://newurbanstreets.com/2010/trees-in-parking-lane/
Memebag wins.
Yeah, these are Poplar or Ash, they’re decorative, not really permanent. As long as they eventually replace them after the new project, I’m cool with it. This is nothing like the Wendy’s mess. Apples and Oranges.
I wish they had to cut down some trees for the new bike lanes on Lamar. That would have pitted hippy against hippy in a battle royale for the streets of Houston.
They were sycamore trees.. Just recently I noted how they were starting to get somewhat sizable for just ~5 years old. I’m guessing the ones west of Milam are still there but I’m not sure
This is another outrage. In the summer the homeless will have to urinate in the broiling hot sun instead of under a tranquil leafy canopy.
Why would anyone plant a tree that gets as massive as a Sycamore (and as messy) on a sidewalk downtown. They were either colossally stupid or intended to cut them down all along, long before maturity.
Complements to Memebag. I remember thinking the placement of the trees was weird.
I noticed they were sawed off earlier this week too. What gives?
Thanks for the post.
Is it possible to block or mute Shannon???? She comments on EVERY EFFING THREAD and contributes nothing.
First of all I’m a guy (Shannon is an ancient Gaelic word meaning wise ancient river, it traditionally a boys name in Ireland, I’m named for my maternal grandfather, so show some respect). I disagree that I don’t add anything to threads, you think I don’t, fine, that’s your opinion, but you’re not the Swamplot sensor so stop acting like a one. I don’t tell you that you add nothing and shouldn’t comment, so show me the same respect. Grow up, at least I have the balls to use my real name, HTX~