SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – San Francisco Public Works is gearing up for the likelihood of more trees falling across city streets and sidewalks.
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In the meantime, tree lovers are calling on city leaders to set aside money to replace the thousands lost this winter and spring.
Trees throughout the city have been felled by recent winds across the city in record numbers.
But there was already a deficit even before this winter.
"Which means that we were losing more trees than we were planting," said Brian Wiedenmeier, the executive director of Friends of the Urban Forest, a local nonprofit that plants thousands of trees in the city annually.
"And what we know is that with the series of storms over the last few months, we've lost thousands of trees in San Francisco," he said. "Just over 700 in last week’s alone."
The organization plants about 2,500 trees a year, not nearly enough to meet the deficit created this winter.
Tree replacement can be expensive, a tree can cost $100, and other factors like digging up concrete and removing a stump can also be time-consuming and costly, running into the thousands.
Now advocates like Wiedenmeier are calling on the city and the mayor "to invest in tree planting in the next city budget," he said.
"We know there are lots of competing priorities," he added. "But if we don't take action to address the deficit in street trees that we're going to face after this tough winter, we're not going to see those benefits."
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