Join April 10 walk at Forbes Hill Park

The City of Quincy plans to build a parking lot in the green space (horizontal grassy oval labeled “Forbes Hill Playground”) of Forbes Hill Park and to cut down some trees around it (Image: Google)

Last week, a concerned resident brought to our attention a City plan to pave over most of the open green space and to cut down a swathe of trees in Forbes Hill Park in order to create a parking lot for the neighboring Furnace Brook Golf Course, which the City is now running.

The resident has organized a walk of the park for tomorrow, Sunday, April 10, at 2 pm (see this flyer for more info - a Chinese version of which is here).

In response to an outcry this week from residents about the parking lot plan, the City just put out an amended version of the plan that includes a smaller parking lot.

Ian Cain, the city councilor for ward 3, where the park is located, announced the amended plan, which he said is not final, in a newsletter today. He also linked to a letter from Quincy's tree warden, Chris Hayward, who went out to the site on Friday and reported that:

• most of the trees in the swathe that might be removed are Scots pine, with the remainder being black cherry and a single mature red oak

• the Scots pine trees are in poor condition because they were pruned heavily over the years to allow cars to pass by and most are covered in poison ivy vines

• the black cherry trees are showing problems common to their species, including cavities and deadwood

• the healthiest tree appears to be a red oak that is 22 inches wide at breast height [which this website suggests is about 155 years old]

• any plan involving the expansion of parking for the golf course would be subject to the City's tree ordinance and would require a landscaping plan with trees intended to replace any cut down, planted in places where they can thrive

The Quincy Tree Alliance is just beginning to study this issue, but we are concerned about the planned removal of some of the park's mature trees, and about whether lack of maintenance of the park may have contributed to some of the trees' poor health.

We are heartened that the City has amended its plans in response to feedback from residents about its original plans, which were presented at a meeting on March 2. However, we believe the community should be involved from the very beginning in the planning process for any Quincy park, and that the City should hold community meetings about this park before any further work is done on its design.

We hope as many QTA members as possible will come learn about the park tomorrow.

Forbes Hill Park walk

100 Forbes Hill Road

Sunday, April 10, 2 pm

Meet at the historic tower

-The Quincy Tree Alliance Board