At present, the cutting down of "roadside trees" is progressing in Osaka City.

Street trees are an opportunity to feel the change of seasons, but about 3,000 trees are scheduled to be felled in three years.

Why is deforestation necessary?



(Kenta Naritsuka Takahito Yamamoto Shinya Fujishima)

a bit lonely

On November 11th, logging took place along Nagai Koen-dori Street in Osaka City.



Since the morning, workers have been using chainsaws to cut branches and parts of the trunks of maple trees.

The felled trees were loaded onto the truck bed.


The remaining root part will be pulled out and removed in the future.

Another roadside tree on a nearby road had a sign announcing that it would be felled in the future.

An 87-year-old woman who lives in the neighborhood said,


"There is not much greenery in the city, and it's hard to find shade on hot summer days, so please don't cut trees."

A woman in her 80s using the road:


“When the fall foliage season is over, I sometimes feel uncomfortable with the dry leaves and how slippery they are, but I feel a little sad that they are gone.”

I have planted many

Why is the cutting of roadside trees progressing?



Originally, Osaka City had little greenery, so in 1964, the "100 Year Greenery Declaration" was made, and since then trees have been actively planted.

At that time, in order to increase the greenery as quickly as possible, trees that grow quickly and tend to grow large, such as poplars and plane trees, were selected.



Roadside trees not only improve the scenery of roads and create a sense of the season, but also have the effect of blocking strong sunlight and preventing the spread of fire.



However, after more than 50 years have passed since the trees were planted, there are more trees that are likely to fall over as old trees, and trees that are too large to see signals and road signs and affect road traffic.



In addition, Typhoon No. 21 in 2018 brought down about 1,650 roadside trees managed by the city, and the risk of disasters became apparent.

Therefore, the city took measures such as removing about 9,000 street trees in the three years until March last year and replanting them with shorter trees.

"For your safety, please understand"

Furthermore, from this summer onwards, we are also removing roadside trees that may affect roads in the near future.



In particular, we are focusing on a phenomenon called "neagari", in which the pavement is lifted by large roots and the road surface deteriorates.

It means that there is a possibility that traffic will be affected, such as cases where it is difficult for wheelchairs and strollers to pass.



The city plans to remove a total of 3,000 trees by March 2025.

The city of Osaka said, ``We believe this is a necessary measure to ensure that the roads are used safely, so we ask for your understanding and cooperation. I want to protect the scenery by responding," he commented.

scenery and safety

When I interviewed, I heard voices regretting logging at the site.



Certainly, I feel very lonely when I see trees that have been felled and loaded onto trucks.



On the other hand, it is also true that there are many cases nationwide of trees falling down and causing damage.



Because the roads are used by many people, from children to the elderly, I wanted to use this as an opportunity to think about how to maintain safe roads while valuing the scenery.