Jacaranda to stay, says Parks Department
Despite concern that a Jacaranda tree in Princess Alice Avenue will fall over and hurt someone, the Parks Department said it will not be cut down.
THE Parks Department has made the decision not to cut down an old Jacaranda tree in Princess Alice Avenue, despite the fact that residents have voiced their concern that it will fall onto the road and hurt or kill a passerby.
The tree was highlighted in the Berea Mail last September when resident, Eileen Bestel said she was worried the tree would fall onto the busy road, as it is leaning at a precarious angle and is full of white ants. Her tenant, Melody Tempest, voiced her concern at the time, and contacted Berea Mail recently saying one of the branches broke and fell onto the road during a storm.
“It was a Friday evening and I heard a solid thump at around 6.30pm. One of the branches broke off and smashed into four pieces in the road. Thankfully two cars travelling by were 4X4s and managed to swerve, although one dragged a part of the branch down the road,” she said.
Tempest said two cars came by and swerved around the branches, and two men got out to move the branches onto the pavement.
“It was so lucky that no one was killed. I am a nervous wreck driving in and out of our driveway every day, and I worry about Eileen, as she is in and out of the property all the time,” she said.
She said she had been in touch with Grahame Steel from the Parks Department, but had been told nothing would be done about the tree.
“I have made umpteen requests for something to be done, but I was told the tree is not a danger and that it is not going to fall,” she said.
Responding to queries by Berea Mail, Steel said: “I did have a look at the tree last year and do not see a reason at this stage to remove the tree. These trees are aging and do naturally shed branches in high wind or stormy weather. Some of the Jacaranda trees do tend to have a lean. I could not pick up a cavity but will monitor the trees and prune to lighten the load. My decision is to preserve our urban forest and in exceptional circumstances will remove trees if they have serious Basel cavity or I see if they are about to fall.”
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
