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erdtirdmans t1_jegjtc2 wrote

Reply to comment by this_shit in 47-story apartment building is planned above CVS store at 19th and Chestnut by ColdJay64

> It's crazy how all the RCO is asking for is to do things the city government should be doing but won't. Trees? Can't have those, cost too much to maintain and you'd have to lose some parking if you want to fit them into CC... Loading zones? Can't have those, need to preserve the parking...

SO MUCH THIS. I'd be down with doing city planning and beautification this way. In fact, it's my preferred method. But I prefer it because it accomplishes wider development goals with the minimal impact on property rights and minimizes costs to the taxpayer... Which obviously isn't the case here since we already have god damn wage taxes, sugar taxes, sales taxes. Like damn you'd hope with all that money coming in you could plant s fucking tree!

I felt very seen in your second paragraph. Jesus Christ this city. Anyway, this building looks dope and I'm excited

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this_shit t1_jegy50g wrote

The barriers to trees are NOT money. Trees are a question of land use policy: you need permeable, non-compacted surfaces for them to live.

You can either do that by cutting bigger tree pits (which would have to take away road or sidewalk space) or by spending money on more complicated engineering solutions like excavated grow pits, permeable pavement, and/or custom drainage (these things are common in cities like NYC that have their shit together).

I don't expect Philly to start investing in fancy engineered street infrastructure any time soon, BUT it costs ~nothing to turn a parking spot into a tree pit big enough to sustain a big shade tree like an Oak or a London Plane.

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