tree boxes in bloomingdale — a good thing?
when i got back from the eastern shore yesterday, i found that new cast-iron treeboxes had been placed on first street in bloomingdale from rhode island avenue south to r street. it looks like this is part of the ddot grant that gave us the bloomingdale signs on the light posts in the neighborhood.
when i first saw them, i thought "great!" yet another example of making the neighborhood look more beautiful. but then i realized something upon closer inspection.
whomever installed these treebox guards (i'm assuming someone contracted by ddot) just ripped out whatever treebox decoration was there beforehand. some of these treeboxes had no ornamentation whatsoever, but some of them were lovingly taken care of by the homeowners who lived nearby. i met one of those homeowners while walking around the neighborhood this evening, and he expressed disappointment that the new iron treebox guards were installed without prior warning. he maintained one of these treeboxes, and his work was ripped out and destroyed in favor of the new order.
the decoration that was ripped out was unceremoniously dumped back on top of people's plants in the treeboxes. that's wrong. the contractor should have clearly seen that these plants were planted with a purpose, and those who put in the work to keep the treeboxes looking nice didn't deserve to have their hard work spit upon this way by the city.
from this tag on the treebox guard in the picture above, it looks like long fence is the contractor responsible for this.
don't get me wrong, i'm happy to see the treebox guards on first street. if taken care of (that's a big if) and properly maintained, they will go a long way towards making bloomingdale an even more beautiful neighborhood than it is. that said, there was no reason to use this work to trample on the hard work of our neighbors.
boo, ddot. poor, poor implementation. you should apologize to the homeowners who were taking care of things before you decided to come in like an absentee landlord trying to make things right.
8 comments:
I don't know about 1st Street, but over on R Street, the tree boxes were paid for by a collection from the residents. Some of us gave more for some residents who couldn't afford them. I WISH DDOT would have sponsored them. But I do agree that the workmanship is not consistently, mmmm, consistent.
Damned if they do, damned if they don't. At least the contractors left the material so the homeowners could take it back. They could have carted it off to the landfill.
Anything a private citizen installs or builds in public space is at risk. Technically for downtown rowhouses, that even means their projecting bay windows, most of which project into public space. That's why building code doesn't allow plumbing or stairs in projecting bays. I think the code actually uses the phrase: it's a priviledge, not a right.
At least Scott Roberts didn't come mow down their entire patch of wild flowers. Me? Bitter? NOOoooo! Why would I be bitter?
pumpkin, please, do tell us about scott mowing down your flowers.
Those iron rails are a blessing! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to stay balanced while you're drunk, squatting, and taking a dump in a treebox? All they need is a convenient "caddy" for holding chicken bones and I'd never leave!
the funny thing, monkey, is that i tried sitting on one of these just to see if people would be inclined to give it a try, and i have to say they're just about the right height and aren't uncomfortable...
Unless the entire street is being biven a makeover, DDOT usually doesn't get into the business of installing treebox guards. That's because ones like in the photo can cost $400-$1200 each, depending on size, make, etc.
Usually, it's pretty much left up to the adjacent property owner, a local BID, or whomever wants to spend the $$ and can get the necessary okays to install them. There are some limited programs available in some places to defray the cost.
Mark
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