Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-04-10
Street Widening Dooms More Than 100 Trees
Along New Crosstown Route in Northwest
By BERNARD GWERTZMAN
star star Writer

BY BERNARD GWEkTZMAN
star star Writer
The widening of several
Northwest streets-some by as
little as 6 inches on each side
has brought the ak to more
than 100 of the city's decades
old trees.
Several Of the trees-princi-
Ipally pin oaks-were described
by Highway Director j. N. Rob-
IertSoh as being so diseased.
"they would have had to come
down anyway" But most were
victims Of Federal regulations.
The District has long wanted
to rebuild portions Of Columbia
1road and Kenyon. Irving and
Harvard streets to make a new
crosstown route. But to obtain
Federal aid, the streets had to
be at least 80 feet wide. They
weren't.
Harvard street. for instance.
west of Georgia avenue. is 20
feet wide. To gain the needed
extra foot. the curbs will have
to be moved 6 inches on each
side.
So far. to make way for the
new curbs on Harvard street.
between Georgia avenue and
Fourteenth street. q trees-l8
pin oaks and nine ginkgos-
have either been taken down.
or are scheduled for an early
visit to the lumber yards.
Irving Street Toll.
To widen the gutter two feet
on Irving street. west Of Geor-
gia avenue, more than 40 trees
win have to 60: A foreman
yesterday estimated that an
other 40 also had fallen on
Kenyon. Columbia road, which
never had many trees. lost eight
elms, in addition to several
more that were diseased.
Mr.. Robertson said he has
issued strict orders that only
those that have to come down"
be cut. And jerome A. Lowe.
Of the Tree and LandScaping
division, said that. in 95 per
cent of the cases, the trees will
be replaced with new seven
year-old ones.
This replacement process,
however. win be costly. John j.
Bailer. the Highway Depart.
ment,s landscape architect,
estimated that to tear down an
old tree and then put up q new
one, it costs the city about
$40 per tree.
1T would be much more"
he added, IF the work were
done by private contractors"
Costly 70 PEPCO
The street widening also will.
be expensive to the Potomac
Electric Power Co., which
services the street lamps on
the streets involved. Only last
year, the company erected new
mercury Eapor lamps % aid in
THE fight against street crime.
Now PEPCo has been
ordered by the Districts Elec-
trical Engineer Herbert A.
Friede to move the lamps back
ID inches from the new curbs.
Mr.. Friede estimated the opera
ton would cost the company
between 500 and $3.50 per
lamp.
Supervising the topping" OF
some trees on~ Harvard street
yesterday. Donald Elliott. a
foreman in the Tree and
Landscaping division. was
rather philosophical about the
work:
Sometimes it bothers me-"
he said. But the world must
progress. and the trees just
have to go to make room for
the cars"
James H. Brindle. jr., chief
urban highway designer, said
1t was a question of having to
give somewhere, and some Of
the trees were in bad shape TO
begin with"
The pattern for deciding
what trees will go and which
will stay followed no regular
design. Each doomed one had
been examined by an engineer
and a nurseryman to determine
whether it would be a traffic
hazard. or whether its health
warranted the ak.
Saved BY Inches
Thus some trees were pro-
scribed because they inched
too near the prospective line of
traffic, and others because its
disease proved fatal. Some were
condemned because it was be-
lieved their roots would en-
croach on the new pavement,
and one poor oak. its stump far
enough away from the curb,
was slated to be sawed down
because its trunk bulged out
land might be hit by a truck
or bus"
Another oak at the corner of
Harvard and Eleventh streets
NV. was saved at the final
hour when a new sidewalk curve
gave IT the necessary inches.
Some residents expressed
sadness at their loss Of greenery
this summer and hoped the
new trees would arrive soon.
THE block looks empty" one
Kenyon street woman said. TITS
like when someone dies. and
there's no one to take his
place"