What looks to be sudden, a drastic change to the treescape on the lower half of Branford's Main Street is actually the first step in carefully considered plan to remove and replace 19 hazardous trees.

Pink tree removal notices were posted in advance on trees tagged to be taken down by the town. On April 24, Branford Town Hall also issued a press release on the plan to cut down 19 elderly Bradford Pear trees considered hazardous on Ivy Street and Main Street. The removal/replacement is part of a long-range plan that has been underway since at least 2016. 

On the morning of April 26, Zip06/The Sound caught up with Town Tree Warden Diana Ross as the first trees were being dismantled along Ivy Street. The white blossoming trees have added to downtown's annual spring show of for decades, and Ross said she has been fielding calls from people concerned about removing them.

"I'm getting a lot of calls, and most of the time when I contact them back and I send my tree planting list, they're fine," said Ross. "We're removing 19 trees and we're planning on replacing 19 trees, most in the same places; but a couple will be in different places."

The trees need to be removed now so that the stumps can be ground and the tree pits cleared and prepped for immediate planting of replacement trees, which will be taking place over the next three weeks.

Ross also meet twice with the Town Center Revitalization Review Board and emailed as many business/property owners on the street as she could to discuss the plan to remove and replace trees. The trees being removed from the north and south side of lower Main Street (and a handful which also came down on Ivy Street) have been growing for decades. Ross noted Bradford Pear trees have a lifespan of about 35 years, and the downtown trees were installed sometime before 1990. The older trees become structurally weakened. She pointed to several trees set to be cut down with signs of broken limbs; some of them quite large.

"That's what happens when these trees get old," said Ross.

Ross said the replacement trees will include some blossoming trees with "better structure" and 40 to 50-year life spans. The trees will include a few different cultivars of hybrid crab apple trees, all of which blossom in spring.

"They are not native but they will look very similar to the pear trees and they can survive these conditions," said Ross.

Ross said the replacement flowering tree cultivars will be assessed as they grow to determine which grows best. The trees are disease resistant and more tolerant of harsh conditions, including growing in limited tree pits --those squares of space opened up in sidewalks for tree plantings.  Another structurally strong and tolerant tree species on her planting list is American Hophornbeam, which also gives a show of white in spring.

The replacement plan also calls for adding some stable "ironwood" shade trees (such as Swamp White Oak) in enlarged tree pits at "bump outs." Bump outs are widened sidewalk areas, such as those at intersections. The new shade trees are also meant to create a framework for the other tree replacements lining the walk.