Lombard planning winter tree-trimming program

Lombard will be trimming parkway trees this winter west of Main Street, between the Union Pacific railroad tracks and Roosevelt Road.

The majority of the trimming work will be done by a private tree firm contracted by the village and trees will be trimmed according to professional standards in the tree-care industry. The trimming is scheduled for completion in April.

Trees will be trimmed to a minimum height of 15 feet over the roadway for safe clearance by all vehicles and pedestrians and to remove sight obstructions for signs.

Limbs also will be removed if they are diseased, infested, broken, hanging, dead, weakly attached, structurally unsound, in contact with other limbs, interfering with utility lines or streetlights or interfering with other trees on private property.

Public safety is the village's first priority, followed by tree health and then aesthetics. Parkway trees have different maintenance requirements than decorative landscape trees and are pruned accordingly.

Normally, no more than one-quarter of the live crown will be removed at one time. The determination of how much to remove depends on the tree species, size and condition of the tree, as well as the duration between trim cycles.

The village tries to maintain a 6-year trim cycle for trees greater than 6 inches in diameter and a 3-year cycle for trees less than 6 inches. The shorter the trimming cycle, the less live material needs to be removed.

The natural form of the tree is maintained as much as possible, with tree growth directed upward and outward.

Throughout the year, the village's in-house forestry personnel will continue trimming other parkway trees. This proactive trimming allows a gradual raising of the crown, correcting defects early in the tree's life, and smaller pruning wounds that close rapidly.

For details, visit www.villageoflombard.org/treetrimming or contact the public works department's forestry division at publicworks@villageoflombard.org or (630) 620-5740.