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Young trees will grow to disrupt hardscape

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next to sidewalk

The trees planted in this three to four foot wide strip are likely to cause disruption to the curb, sidewalk and driveways along this street. These repairs cost communities in the US approximately 2 billion dollars annually.

This well-intentioned project could have made the same impact by attaching the sidewalk to the curb. This would have encouraged root growth away from the sidewalk because the trees would have been placed on the other side of the walk. This would give the roots easy access to the soil in the landscape beds.