INC NEWS - Park closes due trees

[RW Pickle]

In the last email where I said I had discovered a serious problem that
required immediate attention, it got worse today.

Today, a Durham park has been closed because of the dangerous and dead
trees. If you recall, I mentioned the small storm we had on the evening of
July 4th had shown that this City is not able to take care of the problems
as they occur, muchless maintain the status quo. Urban Forestry is doing
all they can do to keep up with our dieing trees.

After the July 4th storm, they responded to 74 calls of downed trees
blocking roads. Ony 4 of the were from City owned property. The rest, were
homeowners trees that had fallen.

Today, Shady Oaks Park was closed. The pine beetle infestation has
destroyed a substantial number of pines. So much so , that it was
dangerous to allow the public to use the park. Our parks have taken a
beating from the drought as well. Within 300 yards of where I sit writting
this email, there are three downed hickorys and several dead standing
oaks. I have looked at four fallen trees in Northgate Park (I go to the
dog park there daily) for more than a month. I finally took the time this
week to remove a 20' branch from the road where we had been driving around
it for a week. And the list goes on. Morehead Hills Park has dead and
fallen trees. Rockwood Park looks like a bomb went off in it. A member of
Urban Forestry told me today that one needs to be wearing a hard hat when
they go there. Yet moms and dads will take their kids there today to enjoy
the playground.

Since january, there have been two cars totaled from falling dead tree
debris and another incident where it broke a windshield. How long will it
be before one of these hits a child and causes serious injury or even
death? What do you guess that