Because they endanger traffic, the city of Garching wants to have 38 trees felled.
But there is resistance to this.
In the event of an on-site meeting, both sides look for solutions.
Garching
- Trees are living space, they regulate the climatic environment, provide shade and create quality of life.
But they also cause damage: their roots bulge or break up the asphalt.
That is why the city of Garching wants to cut 38 trees.
There is resistance to this plan among the population and the parties.
So vehemently that Mayor Dietmar Gruchmann (SPD) is now taking a stand.
According to the city, the damage caused by the trees that led to the felling can be traced back to the fact that when planning the locations and selecting the tree species, the space requirements of the plants and the extent of the roots were often not considered.
And so in the course of their growth the trees worked their way into the sidewalks and road surfaces, arching them or causing cracks in the asphalt.
They became potential stumbling blocks or cause puddles that freeze into sheets of ice in winter.
This in turn leads to an impairment or even endangerment of road safety, which the city of Garching is obliged to ensure.
"We will replace all trees with new plantings"
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The four linden trees in Schleißheimer Strasse are also to be felled.
However, new or replacement planting should only take place when the cycle path, sidewalk and parking lot have been newly created.
© Sabina Brosch
The assessment of 71 trees by the municipal building authority, of which there is an acute risk to traffic safety, showed that 38 of them, some very stately trees, have to be felled because cutting the roots would change the structure of the tree and its stability would no longer be ensured.
In the case of a further 17, the damage can be repaired, but according to the administration, it is to be expected that the interventions will seriously damage the root system.
"We will replace all trees with new plantings," emphasizes Mayor Dietmar Gruchmann (SPD).
“Every single tree is important to me, but we as a municipality have an obligation to guarantee road safety.” The exception is Schleißheimer Straße, where “there is no replanting yet”.
In the coming years, the sidewalks, cycle paths and parking spaces will be rebuilt there.
It doesn't make sense to plant new trees there and then pull them out again.
"I don't see the need"
Felicia Kocher (Greens) also knows that something has to be done, “but it depends on what.
Because alternatives to felling are possible. ”With some broken ash trees, she sees little chance either.
But if, for example, a parking lot is affected, it could be closed or the routing of the footpaths changed.
“I don't see the need to cut the tree right away,” explains Kocher.
"For that it is far too important for the vital green, the cityscape, but above all to combat climate change."
An on-site meeting of the city council with experts from the building and environmental authorities will reveal in the coming days whether and at which locations alternatives are possible.
"From the start I was concerned with transparency, otherwise I would not have brought the topic to the building committee," explains Gruchmann.
He contradicts the outrage that was boiling up on social media.
It read: “The mayor is planning massive tree felling without a city council resolution.” Or that replacement plantings in Schleißheimer Strasse are not planned.
The Garchinger would have to fight back.
“It is in the hands of the entire city council,” says Gruchmann, “every single tree is documented in the meeting template.
Now let's look at them. "