Street trees on Meridian coming down for sidewalk replacement project

Meridian street trees coming down
Photo by Janet Way

By Diane Hettrick

On Thursday and Friday the street trees on Meridian between N 170 and N 175 were removed. 

Like all the old street trees in Shoreline, these were planted in the 1970s, funded by the Forward Thrust bonds.

All the the trees were the wrong variety, and now, 50 years later, the roots are raising and cracking the sidewalks and the branches are growing into the power lines.

The trees between N 170th and N 175th were removed
Photo by Janet Way

Seattle City Light has been pruning the street trees away from the wires and the City of Shoreline has been faced with repairing and then eventually replacing the sidewalks.

The work now on Meridian is being funded by the Shoreline School District.

As part of the construction permitting process for the Edwin Pratt Early Learning Center, the Shoreline Public Schools was required to provide frontage improvements along Meridian, as well as adding sidewalks along 170th.

The trees were pruned out of the wires
 by Seattle City Light
Photo by Steve Fiske

The work occurring right now is to replace the sidewalk along Meridian from 170th to 175th. This required the removal of the trees in order to complete the work. 

As part of the process and requirements, those trees will be replaced with at least the same number that had to be taken down.

The new trees will be planted in the same general location. Some will be planted between the sidewalk and street and others clustered on the Meridian Park campus near the corner of 175th and Meridian. 

Another cluster will be planted between 175th and the entrance to Meridian Park’s parking lot.

The trees that will be planted between the sidewalk and street are a type with roots that do not cause issues by pushing up sidewalks.