Georgetown Participates in Pilot Program for Tree Health

Four Georgetown street trees are part of a pilot program to help improve the health and viability of Georgetown's street trees.

According to the Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) website:

The trees in Georgetown tree boxes take a beating – with narrow sidewalks and large numbers of pedestrians, the soil around trees get compacted to a point where roots can’t get the water and oxygen they need to grow. Other approaches to protecting trees such as tree fences and tree grates cannot work in Georgetown due either to space constraints or maintenance challenges. 

To address this problem, Georgetown took on a pilot program in which a substance called Flexi-Pave® was installed in four tree boxes in the BID area to help decrease soil compaction, increase oxygen supplies and improve stormwater absorption.

The test locations are:

• Old Stone House
• Wisconsin Avenue at Prospect Street (SW Corner)
• Wisconsin Avenue, north of the C&O Canal (East side)
• Thomas Jefferson Street, south of M Street (East side)

The BID is working with the District Department of Transportation to monitor the durability of Flexi-Pave® as well as the visual appeal of the product to the average passerby. Depending on where the tree is located, the Flexi-Pave® is colored either like soil or the surrounding brick.

Betsy Emes, of Trees for Georgetown, sent a notice to the Georgetown listserv, assuring residents that the substance was not asphalt, as several had worried to her over the weekend.

The BID welcomes comments and questions on the program: You can call at 202.298.9222, x 202 or email the BID's Deputy Executive Director of Operations John Wiebenson at:  jwiebenson@georgetowndc.com.

Read more about the program here: www.georgetowndc.com/content/georgetown-streets.