panniers and help out.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Portland Parks and Recreation is looking for help in clearing overgrown trees from bike lanes and sidewalks. A few mornings ago, I rolled by a flyer for an upcoming event they’re hosting called, “Prune by Bike”.
With a plea to “Help keep the bike lane clear” the flyer promises a morning full of free tree pruning tips along with the fringe benefit of nicer biking conditions.
Parks staffer Karl Dawson says the event is meant to educate community members (and property owners, who are responsible for the trees) about proper tree care, build community, have fun, and “understand the importance of a healthy urban forest”.
(Photo © J. Maus)
I think this is a fun and creative way to approach a problem that I’m sure many of you are familiar with.
On narrow streets with bike lanes (and MAX) like Interstate Avenue, protruding trees can make an already sketchy situation even worse. Just this morning, while heading south on Interstate north of the first Broadway Bridge overpass, a branch jutted out just as a massive City of Portland sweeper truck rumbled past inches from my forearms. And a few nights ago, a low-hanging branch on N. Michigan nearly tore off my helmet.
These incidents make me think, “What would K’Tesh do?”.
For the uninitiated, K’Tesh is Beaverton resident and biking crusader/rabble-rouser Jim Parsons. The man deserves his own profile (which I’ll leave to a separate story), but one of his specialties is clipping back brush and trees that grow dangerously into bikeways.
He’s got a thread in the Forums titled, What have you done today??? where he chronicles (with before and after photos) all good biking deeds he carries out and encourages other to do the same.
Here’s one of those before-after photos that just happens to be at a location on N. Interstate Ave. a few blocks south of where I saw the Prune by Bike flyer.
If you see branches or bushes growing into the bikeway and don’t have clippers on hand, here’s the official way to go about taking care of it:
UPDATE, 1:16pm: Mr. Dawson says Portland Parks does not want anyone to trim trees or bushes without proper permits from the property owner. He has this advice:
“If you see street trees growing into the bikeway, sidewalk or road, you can call Portland Parks & Recreation City Nature at 503-823-4489, who will send out a tree inspector to inspect the street tree and post the property owner to prune their trees. For other types of vegetation call the Portland Code/Nuisance Enforcement Hotline at (503) 823-7306. To get involved in caring for Portland’s trees become a Parks Tree Steward. For more information call 503-823-1650.”
Here’s the info for the event:
- Interstate Avenue Street Tree Pruning Workshop
Saturday, 9/20 – 9:30am ~ 12:00pm
Krakow Coffeehouse (3990 N. Interstate Ave)