MELISSA LEE / For the Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Sunday, May 14, 2006 7:00 pm
Linda Vollenweider’s planted so many trees in Lincoln, people used to call her “the tree lady.”
It all started in 1993 with a phone call to the Natural Resource District about grant money available to help bring more trees to neighborhoods, parks and schools.
To her surprise, Vollenweider secured the funds. Then she rounded up locals and started planting—and planting. All told, she brought 374 trees to Lincoln.
But now, 91 of them may be in trouble.
Some of the flowering pear, ash and crab trees that line Coddington Avenue between West Van Dorn and West A streets would be cut down if a city plan to widen Coddington is approved and funded.
That’s caused unrest among some residents like Vollenweider who live in the affected area in southwest Lincoln.
The trees, they say, not only have aesthetic value but also reflect the commitment of those who worked to secure precious NRD grant money and improve the city.
“The trees line the streets so pretty. They’re really a source of neighborhood pride,” said Vollenweider, an employee with Lincoln City Libraries. “To tear them down, it just seems dumb.”
Earlier this month, city officials shelved the project while they await some $4 million to $6 million for construction. No one knows when those funds will come through—it could be as long as 10 years—but as time passes, Vollenweider and other Coddington residents feel they’re playing an uneasy waiting game.
“I have no idea what’s going to happen to those trees, and that’s hard,” she said.
The city’s plans, which are about 60 percent complete, call for Coddington to be widened from two to four lanes to accommodate what officials expect to be increasingly heavy traffic.
Turn lanes, raised medians and more trail space are also planned.
But all this can come only at the expense of the trees.
Designers toyed with alternative plans to try to avoid cutting them down, said Reggi Carlson, a specialist with The Schemmer Associates Inc., which is working with the city on the Coddington project. But in the end, the trees couldn’t be saved.
“It’s always sad when that happens,” she said. “But I can say that the city will work to help replant trees.
“Public support for the project seems to have grown as locals understand the need for more traffic lanes, added Kent Evans, a design engineer with the city.
Depending on when funding comes through, the project’s timing may be beneficial for some of the trees, Carlson said. For example, the lifespan of flowering pear trees is 25 to 30 years, and by the time construction begins, they could be nearing the end of that span.
“So it might be a good time to start looking at replanting anyway,” he said.
Vollenweider simply doesn’t see the need.
Widening Coddington will only bring unneeded traffic to her neighborhood, she said, and it’s not worth the loss of the trees.
“I went crazy getting all those trees, and now this,” she said. “Now they want to build a superhighway through our neighborhood. It’s just ridiculous.”