posted 04/20/10 09:43 AM | updated 04/20/10 09:43 AM
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Plum Tree Park all spruced up

By scott
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Last summer we reported on how neighbors around Plum Tree Park were upset with the illegal activity that took place within its heavily wooded perimeter. The city came in and fixed that after repeated requests from those neighbors, and now that Spring is here it's cool to see the final result.

We happened by on our dog walk yesterday and found the namesake plum tree in full bloom and new plants starting to take root along the retaining wall and pathways the city added. But the biggest change came from the removal of the dense trees along the front edge, and now you can actually see that there's a nice children's play area sitting in the middle of the park.

Here's the before and after:

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too bad
crime sucks. I understand why this had to be done, but what a bummer that all of that nice cool shade is now gone.
Comment by wave
April 20, 2010
It looked nicer before
Ugghhh!!! How could those whiny neighbors think that chopping down those beautiful trees is an improvement. It looks like a scraggly strip mall with sickly plants now.

If they had problems with druggies, whores, and bang-bangers hanging out in the wooded area at night they should have installed lighting, or motion-detector sprinkler systems, or surveillance cameras - or hired security guards to chase the scum away.

Most likely it was their own wanton teenagers out under the trees smoking pot and engaging in illicit sexual behavior.
Comment by Beammeup
April 20, 2010
clear paradise
put up a ground cover? I thought Seattle city policy was that trees were an important part of our fair city's emission abatement.
Comment by Hermann
April 20, 2010
"Lots of Concrete" Park?
the name seems a bit ironic now; it looks like only one or two plum trees are left. (from the pic, the pretty blooming tree on the planting strip looks more like a Japanese cherry.) my parents used to help maintain that park back in the '70s so I spent many happy afternoons there as a kid. it looks like the fun pilings are gone too. sad...
Comment by chs
April 20, 2010
That's AWFUL
There has to be a better way to curb crime than to cut down all the lovely greenery in our city! Great, replace a nice shady hillside with an UGLY, UGLY, UGLY chip filled retaining wall, probably planted with prickly plants and a big plastic play slide that will probably get destroyed in a year or two. They may has well have sold it and slapped a couple of ugly condo buildings on it. What a shame.
Comment by Ack!
April 20, 2010
Bummer
I have many sketches of those old twisted plum trees. When I first moved to Seattle my roommate and I went to this park and gathered some of the plums that had fallen. Later that day I picked a ton of blackberries and gathered pears that had fallen in the street. I remember thinking that my new city was absolutely magical with such abundance and beauty.

Now it's gutted and lacks its namesake. This makes me really sad. I really hope it's worth it and actually does decrease the criminal activity there.
Comment by RollinRainier
April 20, 2010
bummer
what a hack job, it looks like a home depot renovation.
Comment by Corey K
April 20, 2010
RE: bummer
Agreed.
Comment by tomhenry
April 21, 2010
Clear cuts----
How did they manage to miss that flowering cherry tree? Better return with the chain saw --
Comment by Xina
April 20, 2010
Boo!
Clear-cutting was the city's solution? Yuck. I'm sending this story's URL to Dewey Potter at Parks and Rec. At the least, they ought to hear our raspberries.
Comment by Brian
April 20, 2010
RE: Boo!
Did you hear anything back?
Comment by Ack!
April 23, 2010
No good
I agree with everyone else-- this is really ugly. It was such a great spot before the cutting and now it looks just terrible. Home Depot renovation is spot on. That is really a shame. Sheesh.
Comment by Kathleen
April 20, 2010
save some money
the folks that designed and did this should be let go.
Comment by sad
April 20, 2010
Cutting Trees???
What happened to goal of increasing our urban tree canopy? How can we complain about a neighbor cutting one tree for view when the city does something like this? What a shame! These photos should be widely distributed.
Comment by Editor
April 21, 2010
there outta be a law
The vandals at Parks Dept responsible for this should serve time at hard labor...maybe planting trees?
Comment by peaceablekingdom
April 21, 2010
What?
This looks terrible! Like you accidentally reversed the before and after photos!
Comment by seralata
April 21, 2010
;.;
;.; for this park
Comment by Lack Thereof
April 21, 2010
what a lousy looking park
the irony of the name and its removal of the namesake tree is surreal. Someone should definitely lose their job for this.
Comment by Chris
April 22, 2010
Blame the scumbags
Blame the criminal scum bags and their parents for ruining the park.
Comment by Daved
April 23, 2010
In thirty years...
What a shame. On the bright side, from the looks of the trees that were killed and removed, it will only take about 30 years to recover the value of the lost trees.

So this means, I will be able to enjoy the value of trees in this city park when I am 72. (I just feel for those who are ten or more years older than me...if they never experienced the value of a treed park in this neighborhood...they likely will now never get the chance.)

We need people who understand the value of trees - and especially the value of mature trees in City of Seattle parks - weighing in on these important decisions.

Kirk Prindle
Comment by Kirk Prindle
April 26, 2010
Plum Tree Park Buzz Cut
Perhaps the neighbors real intent was to improve their view. Like other responders, I am appalled especially with city officials either due to lack of oversight or venality who allowed this travesty to occur at all.
Comment by John V. Fox
April 26, 2010
Hold on a minute
I used to live near Plum Street Park and I never saw a single child play there. It was a dark park that no one knew existed and it was scary. I agree the City overdid the cutting and the concrete but I also welcome some open space in the neighborhood and the elimination of a crime spot. I hope that when the plantings mature it will be an aesthetic park that kids will use and won't give us the creeps on our evening walks.
Comment by NP
April 26, 2010
RE: Hold on a minute
Scary during daylight hours? I never lived on this street, but having used other parks without any shade, I see a desert. This is what I left behind in Scottsdale.
Comment by WenG
April 29, 2010
Trees and crime
The data from studies shows that less trees means more crime.

Our Seattle City Arborist Nolan Rundquist was definitely not consulted for this clearcut! He forwarded this information in 2003 to me when Tacoma was cutting trees in parks "to reduce crime" then.

https://webs.aces.uiuc.edu/herl/submit2.cfm
And this specific flyer:
https://webs.aces.uiuc.edu/herl/docs/environment&crime.pdf

ask Nolan at

Nolan Rundquist, City Arborist
Seattle Department of Transportation
700 5th Avenue, Suite 3800
Seattle, WA 98104-5043
email: Nolan.Rundquist@Seattle.Gov
Phone: 206-615-0957
Comment by Richard Ellison
April 26, 2010
Plum Tree Park? Where are the plum trees?
What a shame! We live in this neighborhood and for years my children and I used to go to Plum Tree Park in the fall and collect the most delicious plums. We would make pie, freeze some plum sauce and make jam. This park was so lovely I can't believe it's been destroyed so badly. The new look of the park is unwelcoming and now concrete seems to be the dominant element of the park instead of the old trees! When talking to some workers in the fall, they had assured me that the plum trees were going to be replaced. Where are the trees???
Comment by VP
June 24, 2010
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