Braemor Road project includes extra green space with replacement trees designed to give “immediate impact”

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council are in the process of upgrading Braemor Road in Churchtown, including transforming the cycling experience from one of the worst in country to possibly the best (more on that in a future post).

The scheme included the removal of a number of trees and there seems to be some anger and confusion around this, so, it’s worth pointing out:

The project is not finished.

There will be an increased amount of green space once the project is in place.

Our understanding is that the replacement trees will be semi-mature.

Or as the council puts it in the report on the project: “…It is proposed that the replacement trees will be extra heavy standards and therefore give immediate impact.”

The previous trees were in poor condition; the project’s report said “the vast majority of the trees” were in an “overall poor condition.”

Not only were the previous trees impacting on the cycle path, but the cycle path was built on the roots if the trees which damaged them.

Needed trimming of the trees, to keep the footpaths, cycle paths, roadway, phone/power lines and people’s gardens free of branches, the report says, caused further damage to many trees leaving “decay cavities” when major branches of trees were removed.

Also of note from the report: “It is proposed that the residents would choose a tree species from a selection of 3 put forward by Parks & Landscape Services as suitable trees for this location. The intention of the replacement planting is to achieve an avenue of the same species of tree along the entire length of Braemor Road giving it a very definite landscape character.”

The report on the project can be read here (PDF) and further details including drawings and the planned tree layout can be founded here.

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