My Word: John Moore & Tree Lined Cities

It was like a breath of fresh air reading John Moore's My Word in today's Times- Standard. He's criticizing the nutty idea of tearing up sidewalks and planting trees along Eureka's streets. I couldn't agree more and have written the same arguments here. Good to finally feel I'm not totally alone.

I believe the funding mechanism for this boondoggle might have changed, although I'll admit my information comes second hand from someone who fell for this idea:

I pulled up in front of a customers rental unit in Eureka some months ago only to see three squares of pavement torn up. I figured it had to be for tree planting and was furious that this fellow- a fairly conservative guy- would have fallen for it. Next time I saw him I made sure to ask him about it.

He told me that, unlike the offer I received in the mail offering to do the work at $75.00 per tree, the city offered to pay all costs. He called down to City Hall to find out more. They told him the project was being financed by state and federal "grant monies" and that he might as well take advantage of it if for no other reason than "...to get back some of your tax money".

What got me is he fell for it and had them tear up his sidewalk and plant the trees. This, despite cutting down a tree in that rental's front yard just a month or two prior. To add insult to injury, when we finished up our conversation he said, "The government shouldn't be in the business of planting trees anywhere". Whatever.

Hopefully, enough people will agree with Moore's My Word and we can put some pressure on to stop this madness. If people want to plant trees, fine, but the city shouldn't be encouraging it and government certainly shouldn't be paying for it.