One tree is a Red River Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) located near Fell @ Cole. The tree, though not very large, leans heavily over the cars parked at the curb on Fell Street and its trunk is riddled with holes.
The other tree posted for removal is a tall Monterey Pine near Oak @ Cole. Like the eucalyptus, this tree also shows some damage at the base of its trunk, and the only remaining branches are near the top of the tree. Monterey Pines are one of the major introduced species of trees in Golden Gate Park, but they are growing more scarce in our local green spaces such as the Panhandle due to pitch canker. McClintock's Trees of the Panhandle, published in 1965, mapped four Monterey Pines in just the one block of the park between Cole and Shrader.
In 2012 we had a substantial number of tree removals in the Panhandle, and in 2013 we have seen the beginning of tree planting. A larger-scale tree planting is now expected to commence in early 2014.
With all the improvements in the Panhandle, is anything being done about the pedestrian walkways on the south perimeter and the diagonal walkways? They are a disgrace and dangerous to walkers, wheelchair-bound people, seniors on crutches and with canes. Most of the tarmac is sunk and even the sprinklers will flood areas, so that pedestrians must walk on the grass, which is often a swamp as well. We've twice circulated petitions in the Upper Haight, but the response has always been that there is no money. The bike path is as smooth as glass in vivid contrast. I've told the City a number of times that someone is going to be seriously hurt, but there is no action at all. My 75-year-old neighbor used to jog, but she can't use the pathways and bicyclists get angry when she uses the smooth bike path. Are there any plans for repair at all? I wen to USF in the mid-1990s and couldn't cross the Panhandle along Shrader even then after a rain - and it's the same now in 2013!
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