In early September, AEP Ohio removed nine trees along South High Street in Historic Dublin due to conflicts with power lines, poor health of the trees and the fact that the trees would suffer structural stability concerns after trimming. The City removed three additional trees on the east side also due to poor health and structural stability.
Why were they removed?
AEP Ohio has the authority to trim or remove any tree that may affect the safety or reliability of electricity service. While the City of Dublin does not have the final say in this type of work, the City does have a unique working relationship with AEP. The City of Dublin Forester and AEP jointly assessed the trees and determined that the integrity of the trees was such that after trimming, a safety concern would exist. Therefore, the trees were removed. The City and AEP worked together to minimize the impact and communicate the plan to businesses and residents prior to work being done.
Per the City’s Tree Preservation Code, every effort had been made to preserve existing trees. The trees, which were planted around 20 years ago, had outgrown the space and were declining in health. Those that had to be removed will be replaced with trees that are better suited for the site.
What’s being planted in their place?
Replacement trees will be planted later this fall when the right weather, temperature and planting conditions permit. All are small sized trees that flower nicely and fit the space more appropriately with consideration to soil conditions and ability to establish roots while minimizing damage to adjacent infrastructure. The new tree species include:
Royal Raindrops Crabapple
- Small ornamental tree
- Rounded form
- Pink flowers
- Maroon-red, persistent fruit
Adirondack Crabapple
- Small ornamental tree
- Narrow, upright form
- White flowers
- Orange red fruit
Japanese Ivory Silk Lilac Tree
- Small ornamental tree
- Rounded form
- Produces large clusters of small, creamy-white, fragrant flowers
- Flowers profusely from an early age
What will the streetscape look like in the future?
The City is working on a plan to relocate the power lines along S. High Street. Budgeted improvements include burying the above ground utilities located on the adjacent S. Franklin Street. This burial could facilitate shifting of the service lines from S. High Street over to Mill Lane and S. Blacksmith Lane. That would enable the City to remove the poles along S. High Street while avoiding major disruption. Much, if not all, of this effort is budgeted over the next three years. More finite engineering is needed and will be undertaken over the next few months.
Why does AEP remove trees?
One of the most common causes of power outages is tree limbs falling across power lines. Just one tree limb can knock out electric service to dozens of families up to several miles away. In fact, a single tree initiated a power outage in 2003 for over 50 million Americans and Canadians from the Midwest to the East Coast. That’s why AEP Ohio has a comprehensive program to manage trees and brush that grow around power lines – and it has been shown to be effective at improving service reliability.
More questions? Contact:
Brian Goodall
City of Dublin
City Forester
bgoodall@dublin.oh.us
614.410.4701
Sarah McQuaide
City of Dublin
Public Information Officer
smcquaide@dublin.oh.us
614.410.4523
