Local residents are trying to save an oak tree near 119th and US 69 in Overland Park. The tree is on the stump for the 69Express project. Photo courtesy of Bailey Patterson.
KDOT said it needs to make room for holding rainwater
- The Kansas Department of Transportation plans to level the area with oak and use the space for a pond that would capture stormwater runoff, said Laura Wagner, public engagement and communications manager for the 69Express project.
- Wagner said KDOT has a limited number of places where rainwater can drain in this area, and the Burl Oak site is one of those places.
- Here is Wagner’s full statement to the Post: “Keeping water off roads is important to KDOT for traveler safety. It’s important to keep this runoff from inundating streams and washing away trails like the Tomahawk Trail and Indian Creek. We need detention ponds along the US 69 corridor for that. We have to work within the KDOT right-of-way footprint for the reservoirs, so we only have a few places where we can temporarily move that water. We are using the loop ramps in some locations and in this area along 119th Street.”
Residents want to preserve the natural canopy
- Dallas Stephens, owner of Arb Tech Kansas City and creator of the Nextdoor post, said he believes the tree is over 100 years old and in perfectly healthy condition.
- “Our canopy has been decimated by the emerald ash borer and other things and we go and cut down an ancient tree basically just for the sake of toll roads which most people don’t want,” he said.
- Stephens said he hopes KDOT can maintain the tree and design around it. However, if it is to be removed, he said he would prefer the removal process to be postponed to outline a specific plan for what to do with the tree’s remains.
- Overland Park City forester Bailey Patterson told the Post that if the tree is removed, city staff plans to work with KDOT to reclaim some of the wood for future use, such as tables or benches.
KDOT has conflicting information about the tree removal deadline
- When crews try to cut down trees for construction projects, they have to do it early enough in the spring to protect migratory birds that would use those trees for habitat, said Wagner, the 69Express project representative.
- Wagner also told the Post that all trees within the project boundaries must be removed by March 1 in accordance with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s migratory bird requirements.
- That March 1 date conflicts with the current deadline requirements provided on KDOT’s website, which state that tree demolition crews actually have until April 1 to remove the tree in order to comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty. Act.
- In response to the Post’s inquiry into the discrepancy in deadlines, Wagner said the project team “already set a goal to have it completed by March 1 before that nesting season starts.”
- Other trees along US 69’s right-of-way are also being felled by Evergy and KDOT for utility relocation, new road layout and noise wall construction, Wagner said.
Read more: Overland Park officially breaks ground on US 69 toll lanes
