PORT TOWNSEND — Four poplar trees on Walker Street that neighbors thought provided a potential windstorm hazard will be removed next week, ending a 12-year debate about the trees’ safety.
“I will sleep a lot better when they are down,” said Patti Reynolds, who lives at 538 Walker St.
“For five years, I have lived in fear that the trees were going to crash into my bedroom during a windstorm.”
Reynolds received a letter from Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons in August informing her of the removal of the four trees to begin Wednesday.
Timmons wrote “the city has determined that it is in the best interest of the public in general and the neighbors . . . in particular that the trees be removed at this time.”
In his letter, Timmons mentioned a recent arborist report that identified the trees as “high risk [but] not likely to fall apart right away.”
A short ceremony to commemorate the trees’ removal is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday on Walker Street, The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader weekly reported
The ceremony is to be led by Lys Burden, a member of the Parks, Recreation and Trees Advisory Board, the newspaper said.
Reynolds said she plans to watch the ceremony from her neighbor’s balcony.
Removal of the trees will take around four days, according to project manager John Merchant, and will necessitate some street closures and detours during the removal process.
Merchant said the tops of the trees will be removed first and ground, and the larger pieces will be taken away.
Once the trees are down, the stumps will be ground and removed, with maples planted as replacements, Merchant said.
In March, Timmons estimated that it could cost $4,000 to remove each tree, but the final estimate came in lower at a total of $8,900, Merchant said.
Acorn Tree Experts, Tacoma, is doing the work, he said.
Reynolds has lobbied for the removal of the trees since moving to the neighborhood in 2005, addressing the City Council in March about the matter.
On March 2, a severe windstorm sheared a lower branch from one of the trees.
At the time, Reynolds said the city would be liable for any property damage or personal injury resulting from a falling branch or tree, which would be greater than what it would cost to take them down.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
