City crews were out this week removing grates around some of the downtown trees where the trees had begun to grow into the grates. The openings were then filled with black dirt.
Public Works Director Pat Kelly said staff would try torch to cut wider openings in the grates with a plasma torch, but not all of them will be put back in place. “I’ve noticed this last year walking around that a lot of the trees are starting to overgrow the grates around them,” said Kelly. “On some of them, we’re pulling the grates and widening the opening on the ones we can. Some of them are damaged, and we’re just removing them. Some of them have heaved up so much from the root balls and stuff like filling the box that they are sticking up now anyway. It’s safer that we pull those out and put some black dirt in those so that it’s less of a trip hazard. That’s what we’re doing now.”
Kelly said he’s hoping the black dirt will get settled around the trees before the snow comes, so it won’t make too big of a mess during snow removal. “We’re hoping not,” said Kelly. “We’ve had a few grates off in the past that haven’t been replaced. I don’t know if anybody has noticed. Once the soil settles in and packs in, it should be fine. If not, we’ll have to look for Plan B on that.”
The growth of the trees has been both positive and negative said, Kelly. “On the plus side, the trees have really grown longer and better than was ever anticipated when they were put in,” said Kelly. “So, that’s a plus, but obviously the roots and that don’t have a place to go. As they heave up things, it makes it more difficult.”
The trees, and upheaval they’ve caused along downtown sidewalks, have been a semi-frequent conversation at City Hall the past few years, including recently when the City Council discussed a corridor study and sidewalk project with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). Kelly said he didn’t know when an official corridor study may get approved. “The last I knew, MnDOT had a crew of some of their engineers and technicians taking measurements up and down Main & Broadway,” said Kelly. “But as far as a corridor study, I know they’ve done a preliminary contact with WSN (Widseth), but I don’t think an official corridor study has been authorized yet.”
