I was really pleased to see the way that the City recently planted trees along Rudloc Road, Morley. Whilst some people may prefer the look of trees on a raised kerb (such as the tree in the middle background of the picture), I think it makes more sense to plant them at road level whenever possible.

We’re told that two of the many benefits which trees offer are flood mitigation and pollutant removal. It seems logical to me that trees planted at street level will maximise these functions.

Some of the rain which falls will inevitably find its way to the tree at street level and brings with it some of the grime which accumulates on our roads. This must be a better result than all the water being fed solely to the drains.

Truth be told though, roads are designed to feed water to the sides and not the middle, so the next level would be to use tree pits for trees on the side of the road. Below are some examples, and the hyperlinks for the sources provides lots of other examples and useful information.

Source: Botanic Gardens of South Australia

source: saving our trees

Pleasingly the City of Bayswater recently completed their second “rain-garden” (bioretention system) next to The Rise in Maylands and water from the roads runs into it, is cleaned and soaks into the ground:

There is another at Bath Street jetty in Maylands as well.

Another benefit of planting trees at street level is cost. To the staff’s credit, Rudloc Road received the trees because the road was due to be resurfaced and the staff took the opportunity to add trees. If they were also required to install an island, with the attached kerbing and paving, the cost would be significantly more.

One things for certain, Rudloc Road is going to look excellent when these trees grow. Power to the people.

(Please be aware that these views are my own and have not been endorsed by the City of Bayswater)