By Dolores Sloan Santa Monica
When I first read about the Bayside District deciding to remove the great old ficus trees on Second and Fourth streets, and replace them with gingkoes (“Shedding light,” May 22), I was in disbelief. This is Santa Monica, where so many of us are hip to the warning in Joni Mitchell’s song: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” But it is real.
Old ficus trees line Ninth Street, where I live, as well as surrounding streets. Although only one short block from Lincoln Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway, it is amazingly quiet on my street, thanks to those neighboring giants that keep our cars cool. The dense leaf structures are also effective in catching grit and dust, which we all know is plentiful in our urban air. The city maintains the trees well, so when they are pruned on a revolving schedule, said grime is carted away, we’re all the better for it.
These trees do more than cut noise and catch grit. Yes, they keep us cool in summer and block sometimes fierce winds. But more than this, they warm our souls, bringing green vistas and psychological shelter from the rushing activity all around. They live as partners with us, maintaining the quality of our lives.
So let’s do something to save the ficus trees downtown. Our memories are sharp with the recent defeat of the monstrosity that had been planned to replace Santa Monica Place because of protest. Surely, the District (and the Santa Monica City Council) has to be responsive to those of us who live and vote here, who patronize the merchants downtown day in and day out when the tourists and inland neighbors go home. How many of the complaining merchants live in Santa Monica? How many of the members of the policy-making boards of the Bayside District?
Keep the lovely, mature trees on Second and Fourth (streets). Please, no metaphorical ginkgo parking lots instead!
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 22, 2007. Read the original PDF.