Bremerton parks crews pruned the trees along Fourth Street between Washington and Pacific avenues Tuesday, Oct. 14.
In June 2013, the trees took center stage as dozens of Bremerton residents packed into Mayor Patty Lent’s office to debate removing the trees entirely. Two months after that meeting, a city tree committee decided to postpone any removal for at least one year.
Milenka Hawkins-Bates, an administrative division manager for the public works department who oversees the city’s tree committee, noted at the time that many area business owners are in favor of removal and replacement with more appropriate trees, while many residents are opposed to any kind of removal. Pruning was suggested as an alternative and Hawkins-Bates said any tree removal would likely take place in one to five years.
Jocelyn Bright, a volunteer at the Valentinetti Puppet Museum at 257 Fourth St., happened to be on site this week as crews were trimming the trees and was thrilled.
“I’ve been begging them to just lift the canopy higher because I love the trees and would hate to see them go,” said Bright. “But, we do need more light. It’s what I’ve been advocating for years.”
Bright emphasized that she’d hate to see the trees removed entirely.
“Even if they’re messy, it can be cleaned up,” she said.
Stanley Hess, who is the curator of the puppet museum, was also happy to see the tree-trimming.
“Trees add a lot to the civic landscape,” Hess said. “They also help us health-wise, giving us cleaner air. But, they do need to be maintained. The two large evergreens that were taken out should never have been planted. That’s just asking for problems when you aren’t careful about the types of trees you are planting.”
Hess talked about Pioneer Square in Seattle being a good example of urban trees.
“They are quite mature, but they are maintained,” he said. “You don’t feel closed-in or suffocated there.”
Hess and Bright also talked about the contrast between Fourth Street in Bremerton on either side of Pacific Avenue. On the east side of Pacific, there is an abundance of lighting while Hess and Bright said the west side has been neglected in recent years.
“We don’t have nearly as much lighting on this side,” Hess said. “The lighting sort of meanders from one side of the street to the other, but it’s not on both sides all the way through. It makes it less inviting, especially when you stand on the corner of Pacific and look one way and then look the other way.”
Bright agreed.
“The street is coming back to life again,” she said as the trimming took place. “They’ve kind of ignored us for awhile.”
