WICKER PARK — After hundreds of parkway trees were lost to the invasive Emerald Ash Borer, a taxpayer-funded commission in Wicker Park and Bucktown has footed a $100,000 bill for bringing 80 new trees to the commercial district.
Signs with gnomes on them, announcing, "They're back... and this time they brought trees!" were recently posted in empty tree pits or areas where the trees were just planted.
The gnomes refer to the popular orange gnomes that were part of an Arbor Day campaign last spring. This year however, residents won't see lawn gnomes. Instead, they'll see new trees.
Jessica Wobbekind, program manager of the Special Service Area No. 33, said the total cost of the 80 new trees is $100,000, which includes all permits, removal/grinding down old tree stumps, the trees and labor to plant them.
The planting started a few weeks ago and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the month. The trees are a mix of Honey Locust, Kentucky Coffee, Little Leaf Linden, Hackberry, Black Locust and Pirus Cleveland Select Pear.
Wobbekind said the new trees are concentrated in the 1200 to 1900 blocks of Milwaukee Avenue and on Western Avenue between Division Street and Armitage Avenue. The city's Forestry Department is also working to replace lost trees throughout the city.
"Ashland [Avenue] lost a lot of trees, too, but the city is doing a really good job on replacing those trees," Wobbekind said.
People who live within the taxing district's boundaries (see a map here) were able to request trees, and the group also surveyed the area to assess need.
The special service area, which brands itself as "WPB," levies a special tax on property owners for communal services such as street cleaning, landscaping, graffiti and snow removal.
Over the summer, after pressure from Ald Hopkins (2nd) and Ald. Joe Moreno (1st), the group also agreed to allocate $50,000 from an approximately $1.2 million 2017 budget for the hiring of private security workers to augment local police.
The last time the taxpayer group funded the planting of trees was in 2012-2013, when 41 trees were planted, Wobbekind said. Working with vendor Bartlett Tree Experts in 2011, the group created a tree management plan for the neighborhood, which was updated in 2013 after the last plantings.
"Trees provide a significant economic boost to SSA #33. Research shows that shoppers will travel farther to visit and linger in a business district with high-quality trees, spending 9-12% more in these areas," Wobbekind said.
Signs hinting at the arrival of new trees, coming this spring to Wicker Park/Bucktown. [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]
