Some Worried Roland Park Road Repair Doing Harm To Trees

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Some major concerns for people living in Baltimore's Roland Park neighborhood. It all has to do with a multi-million dollar repair project that some say is doing more harm than good.

Amy Yensi has the concerns.

The lush trees and manicured landscape of Roland Park make it one of the most scenic spaces in Baltimore.

"The more trees we have in the city, the better off we are," said Dan Hurman.

"It does sort of feel like you're leaving the city," Lily Hurman said.

But the tree-lined streets were in need of a facelift.

"The road was narrower. It was also incredibly pockmarked, you know, potholes, and it was a wreck," Dan Hurman said.

That's why, last year, the city started repaving Roland Avenue's crumbling surface. After complaints from residents about flooding, contractors returned once again to install new curbs.

Some are worried the repaving comes at a high cost--irreversible damage to the trees along Roland Avenue.

Joe Burkhardt is a landscape architect. He says the city's road work weakened the roots and damaged the trunks. Burkhardt predicts the Roland Park trees will die within a decade.

"It was an unfortunate attempt to do the right thing. They didn't do it that well, and then, it was sort of a Band-Aid fix, which we're all going to feel for many years to come," he said.

Another possible impact--a drop in property value for local homeowners.

According to the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers, a sound, mature tree can add from $1,000 to $10,000 to the value of your home

"The city will be on top of doing everything we can in that neighborhood to ensure we're going to, either, A, bring those trees back to full health, or, as necessary, replace the trees," said city arborist Erik Dihle.

It can take years before it's clear if the trees will survive.

The city arborist says they will continue to monitor the trees to determine the full impact of the construction.