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Brookline affirms MBTA plan to remove nine trees for C‑branch accessibility upgrades after heated hearing
Summary
The Brookline Select Board on Sept. 16 affirmed the Tree Planting Committee’s approval allowing the MBTA to remove nine street trees at Englewood Avenue and Tappan Street to allow accessibility upgrades to Green Line C‑branch stations.
The Brookline Select Board on Sept. 16 unanimously confirmed the Tree Planting Committee’s approval allowing the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to remove nine public shade trees as part of accessibility upgrades to two Green Line C‑branch stations, Englewood Avenue and Tappan Street.
The hearing focused on whether a 36‑inch‑diameter pin oak at Tappan Street can be saved. MBTA engineers and arborists said tests using LIDAR and a custom physical device showed a conflict between the new Type 10 vehicles’ undercarriage and the tree’s root flare. "The undercarriage on the new Type 10 trains is 6 inches wider than the Type 9s," MBTA presenter Matt Conover said, and added the device confirmed impacts near the root flare and asphalt that "would require a significant cutback to give the clearances to get by safely." (See transcript references SEG 1350–1360, SEG 1293–1301.)
Town urban-forestry manager Jack…
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