Just in time for Thursday’s Aldi opening in a former strip center in Robindell, a reader sends photos of the newly de-limbed oaks along the edge of the grocery store’s new parking lot (looking along Bissonnet St. northeast from the intersection with Beechnut). Area residents on NextDoor claim the hacking occurred early Sunday morning, noting also that some fresh baby trees have been planted along the same stretch of road. Here’s another view down the same sidewalk, catching both the saplings and the stumps:
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- Previously on Swamplot: Smoothing Things Over Around the New Aldi at Bissonnet and Beechnut; Where Bissonnet Meets Beechnut, and New Retail Defeats Old; Daily Demolition Report: Arvilla Destroyed; Aldi in, Birria de Chiva Out, Baskin-Robbins Safe at the Corner of Beechnut and Bissonnet
Photos: Swamplot inbox
Robindell
Get my internet pitchfork ready!!!
and why do we even plant trees in public easements underneath power lines?
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Not related to this one, but I have so many issues with impeded visibility due to vegetation growing in public easements that it’s by far the greatest road hazard I have to encounter in Houston.
Wow. There was absolutely no need to cut those trees down. I guess they didn’t want nature blocking the view of their storefront. Do they even own that easement?? If not, I hope they get fined like the Wendy’s on Kirby.
at least they didnt kill a gorilla
I think Swamplot should add an awards category this year for worst tree mutilation by mysterious weekend tree abusers on public property.
Memo: the city is flooding. No one cares about the tree. Another time, yes, but it seems kind of trivial right now.
its about time!
We need a special Eye of Shame section for people/businesses who clear cut trees on property they don’t own. It’s bad enough to see developers clear lots they do own.
Water oaks, judging by the curvature. And it looks like the utility poles have not been reperpendicularized since the last hurricane.
If you do that, chopping trees, you need to pay a higher drainage tax like twice the amount for all that concrete.
The tree Gods are NOT happy.. @ Joel. Exactly. Too much overgrown vegetation BLOCKING sight lines to see oncoming traffic. The adjacent property owners NEED to trim /remove the offending greenery !!
@ Flooding: What? I don’t think the whole city (of Houston, I presume) is flooding. Heck, my commute is largely without any drama. Calm down.
@Flooding: no, the city is not flooding. If you want to see flooding, check out Richmond, TX. That’s flooding. And, related to flooding, trees soak up a lot of water, which you could describe as flood mitigation.
@joel: we plant trees for the shade in this very hot climate, for the oxygen they produce, for the water they can soak up in swampy times like these, and (well, at least to some) for their beauty.
If impeded visibility due to “vegetation” is ” by far the greatest traffic hazard” that you have experienced, then 1) you’re driving too fast and 2) must never have encountered other drivers during your trips.
I’m amazed by some of the comments in particular from Joel and Flooding. If Houston was blessed with the natural beauty of the coast, or the rolling hill country or maybe the mountains of Colorado, I might agree that we wouldn’t need so many trees, but Its the one thing that visitors mention when coming to Houston. They’re surprised how green it is.
Its the one thing that Houston has to beautify it, provide a respite from the heat and help with co2.
Just because the city has a flood shouldn’t give criminals the right to come in, in the dark of night or early on a Sunday morning and destroy the landscape. Especially considering we lost millions of trees two years ago to the worst drought in decades. I’m sorry if you’re suffering from flooding but what you said was just senseless..
If those trees were in the right of way easement then hopefully they’ll be fined. Planting saplings to replace full grown trees doesn’t make up for the size of the trees lost.
I do think there is a considerable cost efficiency discussion to be had in regards to placing trees on easements with power lines compared to trees on easements with no power lines.
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Half of Montrose is up in arms right now due to centerpoint trimming peoples trees this past month. The transmission rates that centerpoint charges are ridiculous.
I have over ten trees on my property. The city would love to see it flooded out so a developer can build something that concretes it mostly to the property line and the city can triple the tax it collects from my lot. If you like nature, please get outraged about the preventable flooding going on. When a neighborhood gets ravaged, the replacement houses are not going to be as eco friendly. There hasn’t been a shortage of articles to comment on.
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You are missing the forest for the trees.
@ Flooding: Your argument seems to be that a person cannot simultaneously be concerned about losing trees in Houston and flooding. You’re wrong about that; the two are not mutually incompatible. Quite the opposite in fact, as I’ve already pointed out.
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@joel: 1) I live in Montrose, and I dispute your assertion about “half of Montrose” being up in arms and your implication that tree trimming is too great a financial burden. 2) if a cost-benefit analysis is your intent, then you should factor in the increased energy use due to a lack of tree shade.
@reader: my point is that while I agree these trees should not be cut down, swamplot readers get into a tizzy over this issue while no one ever says anything about flooding. The reality is that flooding will lead to the loss of many more trees than what the renegade tree choppers can ever do. Be loud about this issue. Fine. But also be loud about the need to eliminate man-made flooding.
@ Flooding. I take your point, and, with regard to taking flooding events seriously, I invite you to look at the comments to today’s article roundup.
@Flooding: “… swamplot readers get into a tizzy over this issue while no one ever says anything about flooding.”
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A bunch of people say a bunch of things about flooding. Even here on Swamplot.
OK: do any of you outraged commenters actually live in Robindell or its environs? I do and getting rid of an abandoned, decrepit decaying shopping center and replacing it with a low cost grocery with lots of fresh produce, milk and eggs, in the middle of a food desert in a low income area is a GOOD THING. Spare me the crocodile tears over the cute sign for businesses that have failed.
As to the trees: how do you know Aldi cut them down? Centerpoint has been in the area cutting trees because we lose power at the first sign of a storm. And we waited 15 days for our power to come back after Ike. The cutting is ugly but as long as people plant trees along power lines, it’s a necessary evil.
Why doesn’t someone ask Aldi if they cut the trees?