Palm Beach officials and staff may flinch at the potential cost of adding more shade trees along the town’s roadways and sidewalks, but a group of residents says they would be willing to fund a tree-planting project if it would result in narrowing their street on the near North End.
The residents, who all live on the 200 block of Seminole Avenue, say narrowing the road to provide a larger area on the north side to plant trees would force motorists to travel at slower speeds, increasing safety for pedestrians.
“We’re really a unique street. It’s very wide and cars speed down it at 50 miles per hour,” Seminole Avenue homeowner Bruce Payne told the council during its May 12 meeting.
Those residents had shown up to support an in-the-works town-wide master plan. According to Town Hall staff, the plan would provide an outline for how and where the town could add more trees to its roadways and sidewalks to improve an area’s walkability and add protection from the searing Florida sun.
The turnout of Seminole Avenue residents spurred the council to direct Public Works staff to work with the homeowners to develop a more detailed proposal targeting the block.
The project would involve the stretch of Seminole Avenue between North County Road and Bradley Place. The road is about quarter mile north of Royal Poinciana Way.
In February, the Town Council heard an initial report about the overall tree plan after officials directed Public Works staff to assemble a master tree plan that aligns with Palm Beach’s five-year strategic plan.
While the measure has been enthusiastically championed by landscape architect Dustin Mizell of Environment Design Group, a consultant for the town, Public Works Director Paul Brazil at the May 12 meeting emphasized the plan is a “vision moving forward” rather than an effort to fund projects immediately.
That came after council members and Town Manager Kirk Blouin voiced their concern about how much money might be involved.
“I’m concerned about the cost — not just the upfront construction cost,” Blouin said. “But the ongoing maintenance of the trees.”
The proposal for changes to the 200 block of Seminole Avenue alone would cost between $764,000 to $1.6 million in construction and consultant costs, Mizell told the council.
Plans to add shade trees to North County Road would set the town back between $2.3 million and $4.9 million, estimates showed. To add shade trees to the west of the South End’s sidewalk south of Sloan’s Curve could cost the town up to $4.6 million.
Brazil emphasized that the plan was not part of this year’s town budget, nor for the budget that will be proposed for the upcoming fiscal year.
“I believe our task was to show you what opportunities exist. This wasn’t about implementation, but there are a lot of opportunities in town,” Brazil told the council.
Blouin said he was worried the plans could rile up locals, as residents may voice complaints regarding the native trees chosen for their stretch of roadway.
Council Member Julie Araskog worried that a piecemeal approach to the project could create an unfair environment for the streets that don’t receive new trees.
She also expressed concern about the potential impact these projects could have on traffic.
Council Pro-Temp Lew Crampton offered a more optimistic outlook, noting that the town could team up with nearby residents to help disperse the cost of installation and maintenance.
Seminole Avenue residents at the May meeting told the council they would do just that. If costs were of concern, residents of the street would help pay for the installation and continued maintenance of the project, Payne said.
“We’ll take care of the maintenance … so the town would just be helping implement it,” he said.
Seminole Avenue resident Frances Frisbie Criddle told the council that every resident of the block had signed a petition to support the shade tree project.
“If it helps the Town Council and staff, we wanted to let you all know the residents truly want to work together to beautify and promote safety on this street,” she said.
Brazil said staff members will return to the Town Council at some point with a more detailed plan for the installation of shade trees at Seminole Avenue.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beachers tell council they’ll help fund new trees on their block
Reporting by Diego Diaz Lasa, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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