Sidewalk Trees in Baltimore City

atct86 · December 7th, 2011, 07:00 PM

I have a tree in front of my house in Riverside, which needs to be taken down and replaced.

Does anyone have any insight on this process?

What about empty tree pits, or sidewalks with missing trees? How can they be added back?

Balmurfan · December 8th, 2011, 04:13 AM

TreeBaltimore could be a resource worth looking into.

PeterSmith · December 8th, 2011, 05:42 PM

I've done some volunteer work with Midtown Benefits District/Midtown Green, which plants trees in Mt. Vernon, Midtown-Belvedere, Bolton Hill, Maidson Park, and Charles North.

The impression that I have always gotten from them is that the city/TreeBaltimore has plenty of trees to plant, but they can't afford to pay for the labor to plant them, so they rely heavily on volunteers.

I think the city and the adjacent property owners have joint responsibility for tree pits. I'm not certain if you need a permit to fill an empty tree pit, but I think you might. You can also apply for a permit to add to new tree pit where there currently is not one, but I think you may be expected to dig it yourself.

In any event, my understanding is that the city does not do a good job of tracking its tree inventory, so you could probably just start planting trees if you have the will to do so, and I bet nobody would take issue with it.

You may want to contact TreeBaltimore at the very least for advice on what kinds of trees to plant. Working with them or your community association is probably your best bet, though, as the experiences that I have heard have indicated that this is not a priority for the city. A friend of mine in Canton waited two years for a response about filling a tree pit in front of her house. When she moved to Bolton Hill last year, the tree pit was still empty.

30 Floors Up · December 12th, 2011, 04:43 PM

You are suppose to be able to dial 311 to report the dead tree and have it removed. I don't know what is involved with getting a replacement tree. The 311 operator should be able to help, or if you are impatient, go buy one and plant it yourself. I did that once and the tree is now huge.

December 7th, 2011, 07:00 PM	#1
atct86 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 45 Likes (Received): 0	Sidewalk Trees in Baltimore City I have a tree in front of my house in Riverside, which needs to be taken down and replaced. Does anyone have any insight on this process? What about empty tree pits, or sidewalks with missing trees? How can they be added back?

December 8th, 2011, 04:13 AM	#2
Balmurfan Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 636 Likes (Received): 3	TreeBaltimore could be a resource worth looking into. __________________ “The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.”

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December 8th, 2011, 05:42 PM	#3
PeterSmith Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Miami/Baltimore Posts: 4,176 Likes (Received): 24	I've done some volunteer work with Midtown Benefits District/Midtown Green, which plants trees in Mt. Vernon, Midtown-Belvedere, Bolton Hill, Maidson Park, and Charles North. The impression that I have always gotten from them is that the city/TreeBaltimore has plenty of trees to plant, but they can't afford to pay for the labor to plant them, so they rely heavily on volunteers. I think the city and the adjacent property owners have joint responsibility for tree pits. I'm not certain if you need a permit to fill an empty tree pit, but I think you might. You can also apply for a permit to add to new tree pit where there currently is not one, but I think you may be expected to dig it yourself. In any event, my understanding is that the city does not do a good job of tracking its tree inventory, so you could probably just start planting trees if you have the will to do so, and I bet nobody would take issue with it. You may want to contact TreeBaltimore at the very least for advice on what kinds of trees to plant. Working with them or your community association is probably your best bet, though, as the experiences that I have heard have indicated that this is not a priority for the city. A friend of mine in Canton waited two years for a response about filling a tree pit in front of her house. When she moved to Bolton Hill last year, the tree pit was still empty.

December 12th, 2011, 04:43 PM	#4
30 Floors Up (-8 Floors Down) = X Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 2,372 Likes (Received): 35	You are suppose to be able to dial 311 to report the dead tree and have it removed. I don't know what is involved with getting a replacement tree. The 311 operator should be able to help, or if you are impatient, go buy one and plant it yourself. I did that once and the tree is now huge.