Title: Managing Street Trees for Sustainable Trees and Sidewalks

Summary: The City of Seattle is known for being “green,” but there are on-going conflicts over what constitutes sustainable street tree design and management. Seattle has had successive active tree planting programs since the sixties. This presentation discusses how some of these trees are impacting city sidewalks and Seattle’s management strategies to retain trees. This includes working with neighborhoods to accept tree removal as a necessary rotational strategy for sustainably managing the street tree canopy while maintaining safe and functioning city sidewalks. Street tree planting standards will require changes to ensure that the environmental, economic, and social benefits of street trees and other infrastructure are long lasting.

Elizabeth Ellis, BS Agricultural Science, ISA Certified, Pavement Management, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle, WA, United States

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