Council workers will lop two Geelong trees including a waterfront cypress after an independent company found them structurally unsound.
The recent safety checks, part of City Hall’s ongoing maintenance program, follows five deaths from tree falls in Victoria in a month.
The most recent occurred on 12 August when Professor Allison Milner died after an elm fell on her in Parkville, Melbourne.
“We have a rigorous maintenance program in place which helps us keep the tree population healthy and the community safe,” city services director Guy Wilson-Brown said.
“We really value the positive value of our city’s urban tree population; they provide shade and cool and add to the beauty of our streets and parks.
“Our trees also have a strong positive influence on the health of our community. Geelong’s trees are extraordinarily valuable assets that are worth investing in for the future.”
City Hall hired an independent contractor to test seven Geelong trees after its inspector identified possible signs of decay from a visual examination.
The contractor used a method of testing similar to an ultrasound that uses soundwaves to map the inside of a trunk and identify rot and decay.
The testing identified two of the seven trees required removal, according to council.
The first of these was a Monterey cypress located on the waterfront at Eastern Beach in the grassed area near the fountain.
The tree was suffering from internal decay and was scheduled for removal on Tuesday morning, a council spokesperson said.
The second tree was a manna gum located in the Albert St car park behind Pakington St in Geelong West.
“This tree is suffering from fungus and internal decay and will be removed on Thursday morning,” a council spokesperson said on Monday.
City Hall would replace the Monterey cypress with another tree of the same type and the manna gum with a species more suited to the area, the spokesperson said.
