Street Trees

Practical Solution

The “How To”

A community or individual looking to plant street trees can use several different types of trees. St. Louis City has a long list of trees that are used as a street trees. The list is not exhaustive, but it is extensive. The City of Brentwood has a smaller list of suggested street trees. Illinois Natural History Survey produced a list of the street trees common in the State of Illinois.

 

 

Planning & Zoning

The City of St. Louis established an ordinance in 2010 relating to the planting of street trees and the regulations around which trees are planted in the city.

The City of Creve Coeur has an excellent street tree planting program. For residents who want to purchase a street tree, the city will pay half and the citizen will pay half. Citizens wanting to purchase a street tree must complete the application form.

The City of Richmond Height has an extensive tree pruning program. The city will prune city trees, the majority of which are street trees.

 

Dollars & Cents

There are numerous benefits to having trees along streets. This list of 22 benefits of street trees clearly explains many of the benefits. These benefits include safer environment, more shade and wind speed reduction.

Costs for street trees vary depending a number of variables, including current landscape, type of tree being planted and how many trees are being planted. The City of Creve Coeur for instance spends about $270 per tree it plants for residents. The cost of those trees is split between the city and resident.

 

Measuring Success

This toolkit item contributes to theTree Canopy performance measure. Tree canopy is measured as the percent of land with tree canopy cover over it. The 2010/2012 baseline was 39%. The desired trend is for the percent to go up.

Discover More

The St. Louis Great Streets Initiative includes the planting of street trees. Information on this process can be found here.