The Chestnut tree on Fauntleroy Way SW at Fontanelle Street SW that was under threat of removal has gotten a full reprieve. WestsideSeattle.com told you all the details in our report on April 25, The Seattle Department of Transportation has been in the process of installing ramps for the disabled at corners in the area and that corner installation would have meant removing the tree unless some creative action was taken. Local tree advocates like Kersti Muul (see below) urged SDOT to come up with a way to save the tree and on June 2 they announced they had.

They said:

We are pleased to share that we have found a solution which will allow us to repair the sidewalk and build an accessible curb ramp at the corner of Fauntleroy Way SW and SW Fontanelle St without removing any trees.

We have heard from many community members who were concerned about the possibility that this tree might have to be removed as a part of our curb ramp project to improve accessibility in this neighborhood. While SDOT had never determined that it would be necessary to remove the tree, we are glad that we were able to find a solution which maintains the health of this tree and resolves the community’s concerns.

Our updated curb ramp design will allow us to build a new parallel/corner curb ramp with minimal tree root trimming that should not harm the tree. SDOT worked closely with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), which will relocate the fire hydrant near the chestnut tree at the northeast corner of Fauntleroy Way SW and SW Fontanelle St. The new location for the fire hydrant will continue to provide the same level of fire protection for the neighborhood, and allow us to build a new curb bulb to make room for a curb ramp that meets ADA standards without harming the tree.  

We anticipate completing this curb ramp work in the next two to three weeks, depending on weather conditions. Our contractor is scheduled to begin excavation work to decommission the existing fire hydrant and install a new fire hydrant as soon as Friday June 3. 

Relocating the fire hydrant requires a temporary water outage, which is scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon on Monday, June 6. Impacted customers have been notified by SPU, and more information about the planned water outage can be found on SPU’s Water Outage Map.

We will continue with sidewalk demolition work followed by concrete pouring throughout next week. We will perform some minimal tree root trimming as we remove existing sidewalks to prepare for the concrete pour. We will have our urban forestry team on site to help monitor this work and ensure the health of the tree.

 

Ethan Bergerson

SDOT Press Secretary

Neighborhood advocate and tree supporter Sara Macko who launched the campaign to save the tree was enthusiastic about the news:

"WOOHOOO!!!!

Wow, and it looks like they’re using my design suggestion! I am incredibly overjoyed that we could all come together and keep this corner of the world beautiful and sustainable for our environment! I am so thankful for all the support you’ve given us @Sandy Shettler, @Kersti Muul, The Last 6000 folks, Piper’s classmates and teacher, and everyone who signed our petition. ❤ We could not have done this alone! This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I’m honored to share it with you all. And to even compound this victory, we taught a 9 year old girl, Piper, that if you believe in something, work hard at it, and bring your peers and neighbors together, you can make your dream a reality! I am beyond thrilled :’) I am also grateful for our city workers and officials for being kind, receptive, and candid in our communications, and for accepting our proposals and working with us to make this a success for all of us! Accessibility and environmental health coexist beautifully, as shown here today! It just took a bit of pestering and thinking outside the box!

Soon we shall celebrate! I am planning on reaching out to Parks and Recreation folks to get a permit to host a free show with my band in the tennis court yard or up in Solstice Park. The show will be an opportunity to bring our West Seattle community together to thank them all  for their support, and to rejoice near our infamous tree. Once I get plans laid out you are, of course, all invited 

Again thank you all. I am deeply moved, empowered, and feel so unified with our community and this beautiful pillar of living history. We did a marvelous thing together.

I won’t stop smiling all day."

~Sara Macko

Advocating on behalf of the natural world is literally second nature for Conservation Scientist and Community Naturalist Kersti E. Muul who is well known for both her photography and efforts to raise awareness about the interface between the urban environment and the natural world. Muul said in a statement: " I'm honored to have played any part in the successful effort to save this beautiful tree. As an urban conservation specialist, I'm boots on the ground every day - bearing witness, documenting, researching, educating and fighting for the health and success of our urban ecosystems and their inhabitants. Not often are there happy outcomes in situations like this; wins like these are integral for advocates to feel hope, be inspired, and to re-energize for the next fight. Saving things is our fuel!"

Muul explained, "Seattle is losing tree canopy at an alarming rate, both legally and illegally. We need the community to be involved, and speak up."

Here is one way to help:

https://secure.everyaction.com/3s72hfKq1U2MxTIkMECQjw2

And learn more about our conservation work here, and how you can get involved:

https://seattleaudubon.org/our-work/conservation/

Also here:

https://www.plantamnesty.org/about-plantamnesty/the-last-6000/

Even students at Arbor Heights Elementary were concerned about the tree's removal and wrote about for their teacher Amy West who said,

"My third grade students feel very strongly about advocating for a tree to be spared from removal  on Fauntleroy Way SW. Their letters are attached. The students took time to learn about the value of urban trees and write you letters on the tree’s behalf. Please see their attached letters. Thank you for taking the time to read them. Our future rests upon the care, determination and ingenuity of our young people, and our willingness to listen to them."

 

Here are a few of their letters (though they did make just a few mistakes):