Vegetation and Urban Heat Islands - Shaker Heights

Firstly, THANK YOU for signing this petition. Here is an update:

The Cuyahoga Planning Commission is a partner to the SSO project. They provide online resources and tools in which to study data about our city. Here, we see that Shaker Heights is primarily green as a result of the vegetation north of Van Aken.  The yellow and red areas constitute areas where the heat index is higher, making the tree canopy more essential.  The planning commission reports that it is more cost effective and better for the environment to maintain tree health rather than plant new ones.  

Residents in the Lomond area were walking along the street today and were shocked to learn of the sudden shift by the city to dig up the essential tree lawn.  The conversation with the city is just starting. A few of us received a notification letter hand delivered less than two weeks ago.  As we continue to talk with neighbors, it is amazing to see such strong support for preserving the character and health of our tree canopy, community, and residents.  

Eco-friendly alternatives were presented by an engineer to the Mayor today at the Van Aken District (VAD).  The soil here is difficult to handle and no single solution is perfect. But the soil is no better under the treelawn and the of the impact of the loss of the treelawn on housing values and the environment will be long lasting.  Because the survey of utilities under the street is a legal responsibility of the city, we encourage them to act with due diligence so alternatives can be considered and the SSO project completed in a way that does not harm our quality of life.  Thank you for reading.