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Misdirected complaints to city complicated parkside tree issue
By Kate Carter
The project to remove Parkside Avenue's liquidambar trees and repair the road was scheduled to begin three weeks ago, but because of delays and communication problems the project may not begin until spring.
The confusion appears to stem from neighbors contacting different city offices about the same problem.
Parkside Avenue was scheduled to have maintenance work done this fall because of road problems caused by the invasive roots of the liquidambar trees that line the street.
Work was delayed when residents of the street complained they had not been informed that the trees would be removed during the work, according to Melinda Waller, legislative assistant to District 6 Councilman Frank Fiscalini.
It is still not clear whether the work will begin in the next couple weeks. If the work doesn't begin by then, the entire project will be postponed until April, after the end of the rainy season, said Tuan Lam, Public Works project manager who is overseeing the work on Parkside.
"To avoid the inconvenience associated with the weather, it would probably be best to hold it," said Lam "This job's going to last six to eight weeks. An early rain can damage a lot more than we are going to correct."
Waller says there is a good chance that the construction will be completed by the end of December. Residents have apparently been contacting both Fiscalini's and Lam's offices about their concerns. A lack of communication between the two offices meant that neither knew the whole story. "This is not the regular process," Waller said.
Repairs on Parkside Avenue were scheduled to coincide with similar repairs on Heatherdale Avenue. When residents on Heatherdale learned that Parkside neighbors were receiving attention on their concerns about the removal of the trees and were allowed a choice of replacements, they assumed that they would receive the same treatment.
But Fiscalini's office, which was overseeing the concerns of the Parkside residents, was unaware that Heatherdale was also scheduled for road work and tree removal.
Heatherdale residents began contacting Lam and asking about their options. Lam was waiting to hear from Waller about what the Heatherdale residents wanted to do, but Waller didn't even know that Heatherdale's project was planned, she said.
Residents usually don't get to pick their own trees.
"The problem is, now, everyone expects to have this option every time a tree is removed," said Waller. "It's become more complicated than we ever expected."
Lam says he is asking the project's contractor to hire a subcontractor to begin work within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, Waller says she will be contacting Heatherdale residents about picking replacement trees. "We're just going to take it one step at a time," she said.
This isn't the only time confusion has arisen about what city departments are doing on the same problem. To improve the situation, San Jose is installing a resident complaint line that will track each concern from beginning to end. The goal of the program is to cut duplication of efforts and increase communication between the city's departments.
Waller said the system should be up and running pretty soon. "It is desperately needed," she said.
The contractors who had been hired by the city to do the road work were scheduled to begin in August.
"When we originally contracted with the contractor to do the Parkside Avenue road construction, it was supposed to have taken place in August and we missed our deadline, and so the contractor took another job and was unavailable again until April," said Waller.
"Tuan Lam will try to get contractors out there as soon as possible, and work should begin within the next two weeks, except for some extenuating circumstances that are beyond our control. We're trying to push it through," said Waller.
As much as 90 percent of the street on Parkside will be replaced, including the troublesome liquidambar trees. "We're going to regrade and repave the street," said Lam. "Some of the sidewalk will be replaced. We're adding a new pipe to help with drainage. The street has been in pretty bad shape."
Lam says that the department has known that Parkside Avenue needed more work than just general repaving for four years, but there hasn't been enough money to tackle job. The city can now afford to do the project, he said.
However, the decision to remove the trees was made by the city arborist after construction had already been scheduled, according to Waller.
Because of the fast-approaching start date, Lam chose to merely post signs on each tree slated for removal.
Most of Parkside's residents didn't know the city planned to remove the trees until those signs appeared. Concerned residents then contacted Fiscalini's office and other sources to find out what was going.
Waller held a Sept. 6 community meeting with Lam and Parkside residents to discuss the tree situation. Residents were told that the city would replace the trees with their choice of either Chinese pistache or Yarwood sycamores. They were also told that the project would start immediately and would be completed by Christmas.
Waller said that it's a problem if the neighbors aren't informed of what's going to happen on their street. "It's important to make sure that everyone knows what's going to be done," she said. Residents within a certain radius are required to be notified if trees are going to be removed, she said.
Waller said that residents who have already removed and replaced their trees have the option of filing a claim with the city clerk's office which will decide whether or not to reimbursed the applicant.
"I thought it was too bad that several departments in the city weren't communicating with each other," Kell said. "It's a waste of taxpayers' money because it's inefficient."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
