Geneva Sidewalk Ash Trees Replaced with Bricks, Concrete

Several ash trees in the Geneva downtown removed due to the emerald ash borer blight are not being replaced with new trees, but instead by flat bricks and concrete, including four along the west side of Third Street from Hamilton to State, the Kane County Chronicle reports.

According to the paper, there are several reasons not to replant: the old tree's root ball gets in the way, replanting would require digging deeper and perhaps redesigning the street, sidewalk trees are difficult to keep alive and some merchants don't like having canopies blocking their storefronts.

"As it turns out, that is not the best spot for trees,” Chris Bong, streets and fleets superintendent for Geneva, told the paper. “They don’t do well in that environment, confined and in an area where there is just a lot of concrete, so we enhanced the area with bricks.

“Before the emerald ash borer hit, we were hearing complaints from merchants, ‘These trees are blocking my store sign,’" City Administrator Mary McKittrick added to the paper.. "The city has always tried to be business-friendly... So if a merchant prefers it not be there and no law says it has to be there, we work with them.”

Read the full story at the Kane County Chronicle website.