Trees, like electrical power lines, water and sewer pipes, are vital infrastructure due to the essential benefits they provide to enhance urban development.
Among the benefits of having an adequate number of trees in the environment is that they counter the effects of harmful gases by absorbing them and replenishing oxygen into the atmosphere.
Emission of harmful gases is inevitable in a rapidly urbanising environment.
Trees also have a cooling effect on the environment by providing shade.
In order to enjoy the benefits of having trees for a longer period, they also require constant maintenance.
The metro has trees which have survived for 40 years, and it has more than one million street trees that have been planted over the years.
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Therefore, the metro is rolling out a programme to protect and enhance its green urban infrastructure.
The programme entails pruning and replanting dying street trees.
Residents are reminded that after pruning, tree branches and leaves might take longer than a day to remove due to the amount of labour needed to remove them, and street cleaning required.
As part of the programme, the metro is consolidating the list of streets and suburbs that are experiencing backlogs in pruning and replanting of street trees.
For one week a month, all the street tree maintenance teams will be consolidated into one team to work on the backlog areas.
Arboriculture contractors will also be used to bolster the teams for the maintenance of the street trees.
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