Where Have the Trees Gone on Georgia Avenue?

A project to upgrade Georgia Avenue's sidewalks in downtown Silver Spring is entering into its final stages—which includes the removal of several trees.

As part of the Fenton Village Pedestrian Linkages project, portions of the sidewalk on the east side of Georgia Avenue between Philadelphia and Wayne avenues are being replaced, brick pavers and "architectural pedestrian lighting" are being installed, and existing trees are being removed and new ones are being planted, according to a news release posted on Silver Spring Downtown's website. 

The final segment of project involves the portion of Georgia Avenue between Silver Spring Avenue and the plaza at Wayne Avenue. Construction was slated to be complete by late this past summer, with tree planting to take place this fall, the news release added.

This Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs project is based on a 2009 Pedestrian Road Safety Audit that showed that Georgia Avenue between Spring Street and Sligo Avenue had a high incidence of pedestrian collisions, according to the news release.

The removed trees have been sorely missed by many members of the Silver Spring community. Several Patch readers responded to Patch blogger Dan Lawrence's Sept. 24 post about the missing trees. Patch reader Cheri Clark wrote that it was painful to watch the trees being bulldozed down.

Several readers commented—on Patch and on Facebook—about the locations of the tree removals, and Patch reader jag alerted us that the tree removals were part of the Fenton Village Pedestrian Linkages project. (Thanks, jag!)

Have you seen any new trees planted yet along Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring? Tell us in the comments, and email your tree photos to laura.thornton@patch.com.