Santander city council plans to fell more than fifty urban trees in the coming weeks. Five specimens will be removed due to suffocation from cement and the rest because they are an invasive species.
Mayor Gema Igual justified the measure as a last resort after evaluating technical options such as widening the tree pits. The affected trees are located on streets including Calvo Sotelo, Rualasal, Canalejas, Tetuán and Jesús de Monasterio.
Among the specimens are tree-of-heaven trees that the council considers harmful due to their resprouting capacity. Five other sweetgums and a tulip tree will be replaced because their roots have lifted the sidewalks and pose risks to pedestrians.
The city council will replace these species with European hornbeam, which is better adapted to the urban environment. Santander has 63,000 trees in total, although the city center has lost several specimens in recent years.
