Bank St trees – is it time up?

As most of you may know the Molong Advancement Group is conducting a survey as to whether it should recommend to Cabonne Council that the Liquidambar trees in Bank Street, Molong be removed and replaced by a more appropriate and attractive advanced tree.

Of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of trees that grace the streets of cities and towns across the world, Molong has this breed of Liquidambar and their annual shedding – for weeks on end – of seed pods.

But there is more to it than this.

Aside from the potential danger posed by the round slippery seed pods and their reputation for causing falls it needs to be borne in mind that these trees have only reached a young (for them) age.

Liquidambar can grow to a height of 50 m, with a root system to match.

They are renowned for seeking water, targeting pipes containing sewer and town water, and have large feeder roots that expand and lift kerbs, footpaths, roadways and foundations.

Bank St will lose parking spaces and the pods and their seeds will increasingly fill the gutters and drains and dump their seeds into our waterways.

This is what is in store for Bank Street in future years if the trees remain.

More power to MAG and the survey – but I fear that the Council might have to engage in some good governance here, with an eye to the future, and go ahead and replace the trees anyway.