Tacoma’s North 21st Street doesn’t look the way it used to. Over the past year and a half, the 19 large Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) Power Tower’s that lined the broad median have come down. In their place now rise 12 steel poles and (what we’re most excited about) 197 newly planted trees. These trees were planted by TPU, the City of Tacoma’s Public Works Department, and the City’s Urban Forestry program all working together to help build a healthy and livable Tacoma.

Like many other projects across the city, North 21st St.’s new trees are the direct result of urban forestry policy. Tacoma’s Urban Forest Manual, a key part of our existing policy, has requirements for construction and redevelopment projects on how many trees, and of what size, need to be planted as part of the project. This ensures that trees are planted properly and intentionally, increasing their likelihood of survival.

In this project, what was intentional was the selection of tree species planted. Several different kinds of trees were planted to provide resiliency in the case of unexpected pests or diseases. Additionally, all of the species chosen, such as eastern redbud, Wireless zelkova, mountain hemlock, and Japanese white pine, are trees that won’t grow tall enough to get tangled in the overhead utility lines. Lastly, these trees all either provide great fall color or are evergreens (giving us something other than gray to look at in the winter!).

Smart urban forestry policy goes a long way towards helping Tacoma meet it’s canopy coverage goal of 30% canopy coverage by 2030. However, so do the actions of residents all across Tacoma. If you’re interested in planting trees in your yards underneath power lines, find more information about appropriate trees at cityoftacoma.org/urbanforestry. Thanks for reading, and thanks for caring about trees!