An aging street tree fell on a parked Audi at 6am this morning at Noe and Henry streets, according to reader Andrea B as well as local site SF Street Crap, which is dedicated to "random crap found on the streets of San Francisco."
Sadly, the situation likely isn't so random – and getting less so.
San Francisco's urban forest has been steadily growing while maintenance funding has been falling over recent decades. Combined with the city's frequent high winds (like those last night) and loose soils, and the state's record drought, more trees have been falling.
Could today's tree fall have been prevented with more pruning and maintenance in past years? That at least, has been the case elsewhere in the area. We've documented a bunch of major tree problems around Waller, Divisadero and the Panhandle this winter.
Photo by Andrea B.
We've also taken a closer look at the long-term issues. Supervisor Scott Wiener, in whose district the tree fell today, has been working with city agencies and nonprofits like Friends of the Urban Forest to develop a master plan for the city to fund and maintain city trees. The Board of Supervisors passed this Urban Forest Master Plan a month ago – the only problem is that funding sources to make it happen are still missing.
In the meantime, the Department of Public Works is divesting itself from street tree maintenance, and handing responsibility over to streetside property owners. So even though the city has one of the smallest tree canopies among major metro areas, you can probably plan on more trees falling in the near future.
And thanks to Audrey T. for the tip!
