CaryWatch

Beautify Our Medians

“Few who have not traveled with their attention specially given to the point can be aware how rarely trees are suitably selected, suitably placed, protected and cared for in our streets.”

Olmsted, Frederick Law. "Trees in Streets and in Parks.” The Sanitarian, vol. 9, 1882, p. 556.

Cary's medians are populated with mostly non-native trees. Some, like the crape myrtle, Chinese pistache, and Bradford/Callery pear, are invasive. Most of the trees in Cary's medians are volcano-mulched, and suffering from the predictable consequences of that insane (and supposedly illegal) practice. We see neither utility nor beauty as we travel these roads, and we are the less for it.

Cary's medians are losing trees at a (sadly un-) alarming rate.

This is the Town of Cary — not some forlorn and bankrupt burg. Let's fix these problems.

Below is a stretch of Cary Parkway from Old Apex Road to Lake Pine Drive. In 2007 there were 108 trees growing in the median. In 2017 there were 58. The rest had died because they were improperly planted in the first place, and were incorrectly nurtured throughout their human-shortened lives.

It gets worse – In 2018 a landscaper identified 11 more trees that were in advanced stages of distress because of their maltreatment, and that had to be taken down. Watch the video below to spot the orange tape around the doomed trees! In 14 years, 61 trees have been killed, and the tree population of this one-mile stretch of the median has declined 57%.

Because this tree loss happens over time – where each single loss becomes the new normal – there is little to notice. But if a hurricane came through and tore out 57% of the trees, it would be treated as a calamity.

There are some boulevards in Cary from which valuable lessons can be drawn. West Chatham St. between Old Apex Road and SW Cary Parkway has four virtues:

• The median is not curbed, and the superelevation of the roadways on either side directs rainwater into the median.
• The ground within the median is concave, channeling the stormwater to the center of the median, thus watering its trees and promoting seepage into the ground.
• The trees in the median are not planted in a mundane straight line, but are planted at random distances from the center and edges, and in several places there are groups of trees forming small pocket forests.
• Besides trees, at some places there are some interesting and beautiful plants in the median.

These lessons can be put into practice, and here is a specific example of how. The water line under SW Cary Parkways's median between Westhigh St. and Laura Duncan Rd. is scheduled for relacement with a larger pipe. Therefore, the median must be torn up and the existing trees removed (good riddance!). When construction is finished, the median can be left curbless and graded such that the resulting ground is concave (that is, lowest at its center). The disturbed soil can be infused with wood chips which, as they decompose, enrich the soil and increase its ability to absorb rainwater. Noble hardwood trees (selected for their beauty as well as their suitability as street trees) can be planted by the HoA's and volunteers, with trees sourced from local NGO's to keep down the costs for Cary citizens.

This one-mile stretch of our eponymous boulevard can serve as the model for what can be done to the rest of Cary Parkway, and will serve as a model for how Nature can be used to remedy man-made problems. It can also demonstrate how Cary is a leader in using natural and inexpensive infrastructure to address world-wide problems.

In order to begin the process of beautifying all the boulevards in this wonderful Town, the administration should work with the Homeowners Associations that plant and maintain them. This maturing boulevard pictured below [made by ChatGPT and me], combats some of the problems that exist in Cary's roadways: desiccated and non-native trees, excessive stormwater runoff; and un-calmed and often frenzied drivers speeding, tailgating, and weaving madly to get to the next red light.

NOTE: The proposed Open Space Plan mentions that it could "3.4.1 Create a plan to collaborate with HOAs to enhance their open space management practices." This is good, but there simply must be a mechanism for deciding on action that will result in (a) some specific staff member or members (b) actually creating the plan (c) at some specified time and then (d) reaching out to HoA boards (e) to decide on the enhancements and (f) performing the enactments. The draft Plan DOES NOT specify any of (a) through (f). This is one of the reasons we propose Cary constitute a Department of the Environment, which WILL perform those functions.

The overall effect of the canopied roadway and its shading effect on the street, the beauty it holds, and its stormwater utility is what I'm trying to convey.

Cary can be made into a town as beautiful and serene as the small towns of Switzerland, Germany, and France if citizens elect Council members who have a sense of aesthetic natural beauty and the leadership ability to create that beauty.