THE Futian District Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau held a public hearing on replacing street trees in the Baishaling, Kouan, Jingtian and Meilin areas last week.

There were 10 people, including residents, corporative representatives, political advisers and lawmakers, in attendance at the hearing.

The public hearing was held to resolve issues caused by Typhoon Mangkhut last September, which seriously affected the city and uprooted thousands of trees along the roads.

During the hearing, a question of whether “all of the street trees have to be replaced” gained a lot of attention.

The urban management department responded that the trees would pose a threat to the underground pipeline facilities if they were not completely replaced.

“The roots are weak and could be a huge danger when the next strong typhoon hits the city,” said an unidentified official with the department.

Luo Rihua, a lawmaker in Futian, hopes related departments will reduce the impact on the lives of the people in the neighborhood while considering the necessity of replacing the trees.

Xiao Hanmei, a political adviser, said it is unnecessary to cut down all of the street trees because many of them are intact and in good shape after the disaster. “There should be another assessment of whether the street trees need to be replaced,” Xiao said.

According to the replacement plan, the trees that are tilted or could be dangerous will be relocated before the typhoon season.

The relocation of the trees will be conducted in stages, according to the urban management bureau’s plan. In the first stage, which will last for 10 months, trees on 16 main roads will be relocated. In the second stage, the relocation will focus on the remaining 14 main and secondary roads and will last for 12 months.

The cost is estimated at 30 million yuan (US$4.37 million).

(Liu Jieyu)