In Gympie the Council has stirred up a storm as they want to get rid of the leopard trees in a main street.
They have also mentioned BCC has many and prune them more. I also like the watuhousia species they're thinking of replanting, I reckon they mean waterhousia though. Now they also are looking at planting elalocarpus but that gets a hard blue fruit about the size of a macadamia nut ... can be like marbles on pavement.
Mary Street trees to be replaced | Gympie News | Local News in Gympie | Gympie Times Quote:
THOSE moving to Gympie for a “tree change” may love Mary Street’s leopard trees, but since the main street’s retailers complained they were messy, a safety hazard and damaged the footpath Gympie region councillors have decided to replace them.
Some shoppers in Mary Street don’t agree and say council could better spend ratepayers’ money in the main street than on trees.
One, who wished to remain anonymous, was shocked at the cost to replace the trees($6500) and said council should invest in an attraction that drew people into town.
A recommendation to continue gradually replacing the trees was agreed to by councillors at Tuesday’s Works and Services Committee Meeting.
That decision, not final until ratified in next week’s general meeting, would mean other species of trees that had less invasive roots, no seed problems and were evergreen could be replacements.
A report has earmarked “harpullia, watuhousia and elalocarpus” trees as possible alternatives in Mary Street.
The report, by council’s General Manager of Works Eastern Division Greg Ingham, also quoted $6500 to remove and replace each tree with an advanced sized specimen.
That money would also allow for repair and replacement works to paving and kerbing and root control measures for the new trees.
Council’s Parks Manager Ed French told councillors Brisbane City Council continued to plant leopard trees and council was pruning the trees more vigorously now.
As a part of the tree replacement program council will also remove and trim problem trees, cut roots and repair adjacent pavers on an on-going basis.
But the cost doesn’t cover repairs or relocation of underground services the trees’ roots could have damaged.
Mr Ingham told councillors the roots had grown uncontrolled under the pavement and may have caused a lot of damage.
Mayor Ron Dyne said any replacement had to be a slow process.
“I would hate to think we go in there and rip them out...we would lose the aesthetic beauty of the street,” he said.
Back in 2006 the issue of safety with falling seedpods and the damage leopard trees’ roots caused to pavers started a program to replace the trees.
So far eight trees have been replaced.
Mr Ingham’s report showed three trees that had been removed still hadn’t been replaced because their locations were either too close to buildings or caused a visibility problem.
Another two were paved over after replacements were continually vandalised or damaged.
Mary Street retailers put the tree replacement as a top priority at a recent meeting to discuss the street’s revamp.
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Tree decision divides residents | Gympie News | Local News in Gympie | Gympie Times Quote:
A BID by Gympie Regional Council to slowly remove Mary Street’s leopard trees has divided the region’s residents.
While some traders and shoppers agree the seedpods the trees drop are dangerous and they should be removed, others don’t think a leopard should change its spots and want to keep the trees.
An anonymous caller yesterday told The Gympie Times they would be tying yellow ribbon around the trees and attaching notes to try and save them. The caller invited others to tie ribbon around the trees they wanted to save and said they would do all they could to get council to change their minds.
“Some of us like the trees and will be doing all we can to save the trees,” the caller said.
Also yesterday Mary Street trader Sonya Ricketts said she had seen a number of people slip on the leopard tree’s seedpods which “rained down” in the wind and hit cars and pedestrians.
“It will be much nicer and safer when they are removed. I’d hate for my nana to slip,” she said.
Mrs Ricketts agreed the trees were beautiful but said they were a “health hazard”. And that view is mirrored by business owners up and down the main street, who attended recent Mary Street trader meetings. Comments on The Gympie Times website said the trees gave the street “some atmosphere”.
Another asked how long it would take the replacement trees to grow big enough to provide shade.
“The money could be better spent on a tourist venue...” the writer said.
Other comments welcomed the news saying the trees were “nothing but trouble” and should “never have been chosen”.
Council is looking at three new species to substitute for the leopard trees and only a couple of trees per year would be replaced a recent meeting heard.
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8th October 2010, 06:18 PM
Leopard Tree Seed Drop Reason for Removal 
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