Stay or Leave? a Tree Checkup

An oak may be allowed to stand next to a statue of Maggie Walker, but can it stand the test of time?

The debate continues about whether a towering Southern live oak should stay at the triangular intersection of Brook Road and Broad and Adams streets, where the city plans to place a statue of Maggie Walker surrounded by a memorial plaza.

Some statue advocates say the tree would overshadow the sculpture, and that a plaza designed to last for decades shouldn’t be designed around a tree that will die.

Oak lovers ask that the tree, planted in 1989, be included in the plaza design. There are space constraints, but artist Toby Mendez, commissioned by the city to sculpt Walker, says that the project could work either way.

But how healthy is the tree? The Public Works Department says that this type of tree is known to live hundreds of years, but could have a reduced life in urban conditions.

On its side is that it’s planted in an optimal space, given the environment, the department says. City arborists drive past the tree to inspect it weekly and estimate that pruning to accommodate the statue would cost a few hundred dollars every few years.

If the tree must go, then it’s likely the chain saws would come out. Transplanting the tree is “cost prohibitive,” Public Works spokeswoman Sharon Jones says. Similar transplants have cost as much as five or six-figures. — L.S.

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