Trees along the sidewalk?
Question:I live in Chicago and I love the fact that throughout the city, the streets are lined with trees. But that's where my problem begins. The tree planted in front of our house is, in simple terms, messy. It drops so many leaves and it's just so hard to maintain the yard when you have a tree that's making a mess after you just cleaned it. Do I have to ask the city officials to have the tree removed and replace it with something better? Does the city have to do that or do I do than on my own? I want to plant a red japanese maple tree in its place. It doesn't grow very tall and well so it's easier to maintain. But how, like in other cities, do you go about changing something that literally belongs to the city?
Answers:
That's a tough one. I live in Chicago, too. What type of tree is it? What I would do is look at the other trees on your street. Are they all the same? If not, you might get away with it. But a Japanese Maple is really different than the typical Ash, Maple, or Honey Locust . It would stick out like a sore thumb. It might be best to call 311 and ask the city if it is okay.
check with the city, they may even have a list of trees that they recommend.
maples can be bad trees because of uplift, but some are very decorative so the good aspects of them out weigh that one problem.
I found some suggestions for you in the link provided below.
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