Marietta Considers Planting Trees on Church Street

The city of Marietta is discussing plans to plant trees along Church Street from Mill to Polk streets, which would help cool businesses during the hottest part of the day, encourage visitors to spend time downtown and beautify one of the main corridors coming into the Square.

The city presented four options to the public during an informational meeting Sept. 19 and received feedback about which option citizens and business owners would like to see implemented along Church Street.

Option One

• Approximately $50,000-$70,000
• Approximately 12 trees would be planted along Church Street
• Number of parking spaces would stay same
• Existing curb would stay

Option Two

• Approximately $150,000-$200,000
• Curb along west side of Church Street would be moved, which would create wider sidewalk and allow landscaping to be installed
• Lanes on Church Street reduced from 15 to 10 feet
• Number of parking spaces would stay same

Option Three

• Approximately $80,000-$130,000
• Approximately twice as many trees would be planted as first two options
• Six parking spaces would be removed

Option Four

• Approximately $60,000-$100,000
• Median would be installed along Church Street
• Trees would be planted in median
• One parking space would be removed
• Provides equal number of trees on both sides of road, but median could cause drivers to think Church Street is two-way street

"Marietta's Public Works committee agreed to move forward with Option 2, substituting mid-story trees for the understory trees indicated on the plans," city of Marietta engineer Jim Wilgus said.

"Understory trees are small trees that generally grow to 20-30 feet," he said. "In this situation, we were concerned that the understory trees would block the building signs."

Next Steps

Public Works will refine plans for improvements, which will include working with property owners or tenants on details..

Benefits of Trees

• Help cool businesses, which helps save money on businesses' utility bills
• Provide shade, which encourages people to stay on Marietta Square and shop longer
• Help reduce pollution
• Encourage more people to come to Marietta Square

Construction

Wilgus expects construction, which is funded by SPLOST and the city's tree fund, to begin shortly after the first of the year and be completed by the 2013 Taste of Marietta, which will take place April 28.

There are currently 41 parking spaces and three loading zones along Church Street. There are no trees currently along Church Street and flower planters along the sidewalks.