Troublesome tree on Granite Road in Fourways Gardens is removed
FOURWAYS GARDENS – A hazardous tree at the corner of Granite and Uranium streets has been removed, thanks to the efforts of a concerned citizen.
A troublesome tree on Granite Road has been removed thanks to the efforts of a concerned citizen.
Charlotte Biesman-Simons, who also works at HeronBridge College as a librarian, first became concerned about the very large tree located near the intersection of Granite Road and Uranium Street in January. Early that month, the tree was allegedly hit by lightning and half of it fell, damaging the wall of a property in the area.
Every time Biesman-Simons drove past it in the proceeding months, she worried about what might happen to the rest of it.
“Every time I drove past the tree it worried me that the remaining half was at such an angle, with seemingly rotten bark, that it could completely fall over,” she told the Fourways Review.
“The tree was so tall that if it did fall over it would fall right over the road, possibly hurting or killing pedestrians or motorists.
“It was also so big that it may well have fallen right over Granite Road and struck the property which is occupied by a preschool.”
In the last week or so, her concerns only grew as the tree appeared to be dying, an indication that it may have unseen damage, and so Biesman-Simons decided to call her local ward councillor, David Foley.
“The resident sent me an email and I engaged with the Region A manager Joseph Ndou for the Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo,” Foley explained, referring to the branch of government which manages the city’s parks, cemeteries, open green areas, street trees and conserved spaces.
“They sent out a team to determine the state of the tree, the safety aspect which was raised, and City Parks then removed the tree.”
Biesman-Simons got to see the work being done on 9 and 10 March.
“The tree-cutting team was on-site on Saturday morning [9 March] to start the process of cutting down the tree. This involved the hoist and chain saws to first cut down the branches, then gradually reduce the size of the trunk, piece by piece. They could not complete the work on Saturday due to the wind picking up in the afternoon but were back again on Sunday.
“Most of the branches were cut off by 11.00am and the remaining trunk came down at about 11.15am. The team then set to work cutting it up as much as they could to clear Granite Road, as the trunk was partly obscuring the road.
“I also want to acknowledge councillor Foley and Joe Ndou from City Parks for their swift action in addressing my concerns and in so doing averting a possible tragedy.”
Foley said that concerns like this could be brought to your local ward councillor, and suggested the www.lookandlog.co.za website to help residents know who to contact for certain municipal issues.
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