By Jessica Lee
Star Tribune
Minneapolis city officials are considering new steps to prevent trees from toppling during severe storms.
Members of the city's Transportation and Public Works committee spent Tuesday morning reviewing practices that could lead to tree collapses.
Trees that are large, next to recent sidewalk maintenance and construction, or on narrow boulevards are more likely to fall during severe wind storms, according to a study reviewed on Tuesday. The study, partly commissioned by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, followed a June 2013 storm that downed or damaged thousands of Minneapolis trees.
For the five-month examination, Gary Johnson, the lead investigator and professor at the University of Minnesota, and his team, observed the fallen trees' characteristics, tested soil and reviewed city records to determine if there was nearby sidewalk repair or other work that might have severed roots.
Since the study's release, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Department has created a new staff position, a forestry preservation coordinator, to help monitor underground excavation projects.
The public works department has increased its communication with entities like the park board's forestry department in an effort to find less invasive excavation techniques to minimize the effect of sidewalk maintenance and construction.
