City replaces dead trees in median on Veterans Memorial Drive

City staff have begun replacing dead or dying trees in the median on Veterans Memorial Drive, as well as Adams Boulevard.

Despite being on the city’s budget for the past five years, funds haven’t been available to replace them, said Scott Hansen, public works director.

“The trees on Veterans by the (Veterans Memorial) park have been replaced,” Hansen said. “Parks and the cemetery are our priority. Maintaining the medians are low on our priority list.”

Hansen said the city doesn’t have the money or resources to replace all the dead trees or maintain landscaping along Adams Boulevard, Buchanan Boulevard, Georgia Avenue or Bootleg Canyon Park in one year.

Hansen said maintenance of the medians was contracted out for the first five years after they were installed, but during the recession those contracts were cut from the budget.

Since the neighborhood and downtown parks, as well as Veterans Memorial Park and Boulder City Cemetery receive the brunt of attention, there’s very little resources to maintain other segments of landscape that need attention, according to the department.

The medians needing attention include a 1-mile stretch of Veterans Memorial Drive, 3 miles of Adams Boulevard, 2 miles of Buchanan Boulevard, 2 miles of Georgia Avenue and Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park.

Hansen said this year’s budget only had enough funds to replace a small patch of trees on Veterans Memorial Drive, which have already been replaced.

He also said the city would like to do one or two projects per year, and that the 3-mile stretch on Adams Boulevard next to Boulder Creek Golf Club that needs attention is next on the city’s agenda, but it will take a couple of years to complete.

Hansen said that cleaning up the landscape in a timely fashion would cost more than $1 million, and the city doesn’t have the money.

This year, a small amount of additional funding was put in the budget for irrigation work and tree replacement for the medians.

Between 20-22 trees that were in poor condition were replaced along the center median, which is the third median south of U.S. Highway 93.

Hansen said the areas farthest from residential areas, i.e. Bootleg Canyon, will be the last part of the process that will be completed.

“All of this will be completed over time,” he said.

The work will involve temporary lane closures, so the department asks motorists to use caution in construction zones.

— Contact reporter Randy Faehnrich at rfaehnrich@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow him on Twitter @RandyFaehnrich.