City Parks is undertaking a pruning programme ahead of winter

Residents have been asked to note: The felling or pruning of street trees is a contravention of the by-law. City Parks is best positioned to prune street trees. A tree incorrectly pruned may create an imbalance and is more likely to be affected by storm damage. A tree illegally pruned may endanger life and property. Damaged trees or trees that require pruning must be reported to Joburg Connect on 011 375 5555. To use its resources effectively, City Parks deploys its street tree teams by area. Residents are asked to be patient while it systematically resolves their complaints. City Parks strives to retain the city's green belt and will only remove trees as a last resort. Obstructing the sunlight does not warrant a tree's removal. When planting trees on private spaces, residents must please bear in mind the position and species of the tree. Some trees have the capacity to grow to heights that affect electricity and communication systems. City Parks intensifies its street tree maintenance over the winter months to limit problems experienced as a result of storm damage, power outages and vehicle damage. RELATED LINKS: Who looks after Johannesburg's parks? JOHANNESBURG City Parks, a self-contained business owned by the City council, is the agency responsible for the maintenance and development of Johannesburg's parks and cemeteries. Read more City Parks replaces Randburg trees WHITE stinkwood trees are being planted in Randburg to replace trees removed illegally to create space for outdoor adverts. Read more Alien plants face the chop CITY Parks has invasive alien plants in its sights. On Friday, it was the turn of the willows at Hymany Dam in Randpark Ridge. Read more

City Parks is responsible for Joburg's green spaces

City Parks embarks on tree pruning Residents have been advised that City Parks is to prune its street trees before the winter weather sets in. The heavy pruning is necessary, the agency says. March 10, 2006 By Anish Abraham JOHANNESBURG City Parks is undertaking a pruning programme ahead of winter because of increasing problems caused by fallen branches, ranging from damaged power lines to property destruction. "While the pruning might look quite severe, it is necessary," said Jenny Moodley, spokesperson for City Parks. "Residents are urged to support the pruning programmes, which are undertaken every four years." As a metro agency, City Parks is in charge of the city's green spaces and for maintaining more than 1,6 million street trees. It has a duty to ensure proper and regular maintenance of the trees, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Qualified horticulturists oversee the regular pruning programmes, which are determined by the number of complaints and requests for tree pruning from residents, which can be made through the Joburg Connect Call Centre. "The decision to prune trees is further informed by suburbs that have the potential or have recently experienced power outages caused by trees entangled in power lines, roots that have entered the stormwater system or trees that have the added risk of endangering life and property," Moodley added. Some species of trees, especially ashes and elms, will need additional pruning over the next four years as they easily reach their natural heights. Depending on the species, fully grown elms can reach anywhere between 20 and 40 metres. Adult ash trees can grow to similar heights. City Parks gets numerous requests over the winter months from residents, with some believing that trees must be pruned or removed because they obstruct sunlight. That is untrue, however. There is great value in street trees adjacent to houses and obstructing the sunlight does not warrant a tree's removal. "It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we live in a healthy city and it is City Park's responsibility to ensure that the appropriate greening maintenance levels are retained, to develop the basis for a healthy city," Moodley concluded. Suburbs where trees will be pruned during March include Robindale, Robinhills, Blairgowrie and Kenilworth. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za