Greater Sudbury is changing the streetscaping downtown, with plans to replace aging concrete planters in the next few years and plant trees as part of a pilot project. A concrete planter along Young Street at the corner of Cedar Street is the next one to be removed. Over the past few years, the city said nine concrete planters have been taken out of downtown, often because the trees don’t have room to grow. “We are looking at a new standard in the downtown for planters, some that are a little bit smaller, take up less footprint in the right-of-way, so more efficient pedestrian traffic,” said Antti Vikko, general manager of infrastructure for Greater Sudbury. “Also, some of the planters can be self-watering now, so that is less labour-intensive to maintain the plantings in the planters themselves and then also they can be removable, so for our winter control.” The Downtown Sudbury BIA said the planters are no longer doing what they were intended to. Many trees are dying “A lot of the trees are dying,” said BIA executive director Jeff MacIntyre. “A lot of the concrete started spalling and they are becoming more difficult to maintain. They were meant to be seating, but with them starting to degrade, that is not really working anymore.” As part of a recent reconstruction project along Larch Street, the city said it installed underground soil cells to provide better aeration and better drainage for trees. Now, it’s evaluating their performance. “They were installed as a pilot program and so we will continue to monitor the health of those trees and look at that technology and how it is working,” said Vikko. Downtown Sudbury said the large concrete planters make downtown less usable. “Downtown has become a place for events and patios and all of this kind of stuff and this blocks the (number) of patios that businesses can have,” said MacIntyre. Some of the planters have become a safety concern, he added, blocking the views of a lot of business frontages. The city said it will be gathering feedback about the new standard from businesses, residents and city departments.
