Trees removed to rout out root issue

The removal of the trees from a formerly leafy Palmerston North street is expected to rout out root problems in the area.

Palmerston North City Council workers began cutting the trees along Rangiora Ave down on Wednesday, and were expected to completely strip the street by Thursday.

Council horticultural contracts engineer Murray Phillips said the trees needed to go because the roots had damaged sections of the road and footpath.

‘‘We’ve had to take them out so we can fix the damage and keep people safe, and we’ll be planting new trees to replace them.’’

Rangiora Ave resident Jena Bennett said the trees made the street quite beautiful and she would miss them, but was pleased the council was getting rid of them.

‘‘It’s great in summer, because the trees block the sun a bit, but in winter the leaves block up the gutter and pile up in our driveway.

‘‘It’s quite a dark street with them up [as well], and along with the new LED lights they’ve just put in, this will make it a bit safer to walk at night.’’

Damon Liggins and his family were less fussed about the leaves, despite their driveway forming a wind tunnel that piled them halfway up the front door.

‘‘That’s part and parcel of having trees nearby – the kids just jump in [the pile] and play. It’s no big deal.’’

He was disappointed to see the trees go, even if replacement trees would be planted. ‘‘They’re going to take years to grow back. [The street] is just going to look so bare without them.’’

Phillips said the council had looked into just pruning back the roots, but removing the trees proved to be the safer option.

‘‘Unfortunately, we had to rule out the option of cutting the roots away, as this would have caused the trees to become unstable and unsafe.’’