Appreciation post: The city park in Springfield has a Bradford pear that's been cabled so badly it looks like a science project.

I was walking through the park yesterday and stopped to look at this massive, old Bradford pear near the south entrance. Someone has put at least six different steel cables into the main crotch, and they're all at weird angles with these huge, rusty lag hooks. It's a total hack job, like they were trying to build a spider web. The tree itself is leaning heavily and has major included bark, so I get the need for support, but this is not the way. It's a public safety hazard waiting to happen. Has anyone else seen a municipal tree get butchered like this, and what did you do about it?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_moore3d agoTop Commenter

Sounds like the city hired a spider to do the cabling work, lmao. That many rusty hooks is just asking for a cable to snap and take out a picnic table. Maybe they confused tree support with building a jungle gym for squirrels.

milam4212d ago

Took photos and emailed the parks department. Got a case number. They sent an arborist out within a week.

grant.kevin12d ago

Actually, arborists usually work for the city's forestry division, not the parks department. The parks folks handle the grass and playgrounds. It's a common mix-up, but getting the right department saves time.