The Loop Tree Massacre

This morning I went to Blueberry Hill for a job interview, and as I was walking from the parking lot behind Fitz's to Delmar, something seemed different. Upon further inspection, I realized that the trees in front of the root beer bottler were no longer there, thus revealing the old bank building facade that Fitz's now inhabits. At first, i was kind taken aback by the missing foliage, and as I looked up and down the street, I realized that several other trees that once lined the Loop are no longer standing, either. The only evidence of their prior existence were the presence of many tree stumps sticking about four inches or less out of the ground.

Even though I live in University City, I haven't been down Delmar in broad daylight in about two weeks. Usually when I make the trip through the Loop, its dark, and I have an agenda, not bothering to really look around. I had noticed several spots on the sidewalks this spring and early summer that looked like the genesis of new street lights, but that was about it.

Well, today, I put two and two together and realized that the Loop is undergoing a somewhat major face-lift. The trees are being cut down (presumably) to make way for the new street lights and to give better visibility to the businesses that line the street. When coming home from work this afternoon I took Delmar to Midland instead of traveling down Vernon- my usual route- I noticed that crews had installed nearly all of the light standards. They were still swaddled in cardboard and duct tape, and the tops weren't yet attached, but its pretty darn obvious that we're going to be getting better lighted sidewalks here pretty soon. The lights stand about 15 feet or so tall, but I can't yet determine what style they are.

While I think its cool that U City is investing some money in its storied section, I also think that the length of Delmar between Skinker and Kingsland now looks a little bare. I don't know why the city felt the need to completely eliminate nearly 90% of the trees that adorned the street. Most were healthy and robust, and most didn't really interfere with street or foot traffic. The canopies of most of the trees were over 15 feet anyway, so a majority of these new lights would still have been underneath the clusters of leaves. Couldn't they have simply trimmed them instead of felling them? The trees created a nice, symbiotic feel in The Loop. On one hand, you had a bustling urban center that attracts many consumers and businesses alike, but then you also had the greenery that gave it a nice soothing feel to the street-scape, not to mention a little shade.

I'm looking all over the internet for some mention of this, but have yet to see any. If you happen to know why the city made this decision, please share.