Worthington's trees may not be in bloom yet -- even though there's now daylight until around 7:30 p.m. -- but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of city employees paying them heed.
Worthington's city forester, Scott Rosenberg, explained Monday that municipal workers are nearing the end of their tree-trimming season. So far this winter, Rosenberg said, a large share of the south end of town, as well as South Shore Drive and the Appel Addition, have had trimming work completed, and efforts are nearly finished in the Eckerson Addition. From there, he added, "if the snow doesn't melt down and boulevards don't get soft on us," boulevard trees on West Shore Drive and West Lake Avenue are scheduled to be trimmed.
"The reasoning is the city is responsible for boulevard tree maintenance. We need to trim them because of the branches hanging down into sidewalks and into streets. ... We need to make enough room for snowplows and street sweepers so we're not banging equipment against the trees," Rosenberg detailed.
In many areas of town, he added, tree trimming gets done between every seven and nine years. ("We don't have a crew that's dedicated only to tree maintenance," Rosenberg pointed out.) He also said that evergreen trees have been a concern this year; homeowners are being given a choice of either having them removed by the city or trimmed. "They make it hard to see out of your driveway, and they can block the view of intersections where they could be motor vehicle accidents."
We applaud these city workers who are doing their best to keep the city neat and tidy -- and keep us safe.
