The Mayor recently submitted his proposals for the 2017 fiscal year to Common Council. Part of the $20 million spending plan is dedicated to capital improvements at Shoshone Park. At this point the park will see $1.2 million for upgrades to Shoshone Pool. At the same time, we are currently witnessing the basketball court resurfacing ($100K), as well as tree planting and removal, which will bring the investment in the park to the tune of around. $1.5 million.
According to one resident of North Buffalo, a Master Plan for Shoshone Park has not been presented. That same resident is perplexed at the quality of the trees that are currently being planted at the park. His email to BRO is as follows:
Shoshone Park renovations and tree removal are proceeding at a healthy clip. Tree removal has mainly been concentrated in a spot adjacent to a playground and a baseball field.
The City sent a letter out detailing progress (see below). The size and scope of trees installed in park are truly depressing. In an initial meeting with assistant park commissioner Andy Raab, he had said that size of the initial planting/tree does not dictate how quickly the tree will grow.
These trees appear to be from the end of season sale and not the healthiest. I’ve been impressed with the quality of street trees being planted throughout North Buffalo (my own is 2.5 times the size it was initially and its running on 2 years in the ground). I’m not impressed at all with the saplings planted in Shoshone Park.
It’s an unfortunate case of events that led to a park, with a mature tree canopy being clear cut – replacing mature trees with 6 footers is not an acceptable answer. I would hope that there are considerations for watering/fertilizer and additional care due to special circumstances (we all know the answer to that question.)
So the question is, is there a predetermined tree size for city streets verse city park trees? This past year has been especially brutal on trees due to draught and excessive heat. Trees go into dormancy in the winter months, and then must face whatever Mother Nature throws at them. The more resilient the tree, the better chance it has of surviving the early, formidable years. Unfortunately, these types of Charlie Brown Christmas trees don’t simply flourish when they are showered with love. There must be more mature saplings than this available, especially in a park setting where they is no protection from the inclement weather extremes.