Our city's green initiative has me torn between tree growth and keeping the lights on

I've seen a big push in my area to plant more trees along streets to fight heat and clean the air. Some folks say we should plant as many as possible, even close to power lines, because every tree helps. But from my work, I know that trees growing into lines cause outages and can be dangerous, needing constant trimming. What do you all think? Should we focus on planting in safer spots or manage the risk with more aggressive pruning?

2 comments

2 Comments

zara_allen1d ago

Seriously! They never think about the guys who have to fix the mess later. Sure, trees are great, but planting right under power lines is just asking for trouble. You get a big storm and those branches come down, then the whole block is dark and it's a safety hazard. They should just pick better spots for the trees, like parks or wider streets, so we don't have to constantly cut them back.

pathall1d ago

Cousin's street was dark for days when a tree hit power lines.