By Phyllis Chavez
What exactly do we have to do to stop the “tree-o-side” planned for Second and Fourth streets in Santa Monica? I thought we were a city committed to being green and the environment, and yet we are talking about cutting down mature trees because they block signage and they are messy.
I found, on a recent trip to Fourth Street, that the signs are visible as a pedestrian and to car traffic. The wonderful, welcome shade and the reduced temperature they provided was bliss. I found no tree debris, just man-made debris.
We need the trees. We need their shade. We need their majestic beauty. We need the cleaner air that the trees help to provide.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 3, 2007. Read the original PDF.