So says Mayor Bob Kirk about planting a single tree in roundabouts to spruce up the city. Cr Kirk has been on a mission since May to jazz up the traffic islands and remove rose bushes and vegetation judged to jeopardise traffic safety.

In 2017/18, trees will be planted at the Clifford and Bradley Street intersections with Bourke Street and the Verner/Bourke Street roundabout when work starts next January.

In 2018/19 more will be installed at the Citizen/Hurst Streets, Victoria/Kinghorne Streets and Forbes St/Park Road islands.

Trees have been specially selected to meet strict criteria; only advanced species will be used with a minimum 2.7 metre tree canopy and the central island must have a minimum seven metre diameter. In addition, they’ll only be planted where the island is already landscaped.

“We’ll have at least five trees in roundabouts in a few years,” Cr Kirk said.

“Every other place you go to has them and to me it’s a no-brainer.”

Councillors signed off on the work at their meeting on Tuesday night. It came after staff trimmed costs detailed at a May meeting. Back then, councillors were told that retrofitting trees at roundabouts with a central concrete median would cost $15,000 to $20,000. In those that were landscaped, the cost was estimated at $6000 to $8000. 

They called for a breakdown of prices, which revealed that $2500 was for an irrigation system.

The revised expenditure is $3320 for each roundabout, which removes the irrigation system and relies on cart-watering. It also takes into account that roses will not be replanted in other locations but stored in pots at the council’s nursery and used around the city on an as needs basis. About $1670 of the amount is for tree purchase and installation alone.

While Cr Kirk was happy to see the initiative advance, not everyone was happy.

Cr Margaret O’Neill said she was “dead against” the idea.

“The rose people have raised thousands of dollars for these roses. The roses aren’t the problem; it’s the lack of maintenance that’s caused all the strife,” she said.

Cr Sam Rowland was also opposed.

“I voted against it last time because we didn’t know about the level of consultation with the Roads and Maritime Service and police. Has it been done?” he asked.

Operations director Matt O’Rourke replied that it had been previously discussed at the traffic committee, of which RMS and police were members. However the issue would be brought to their next meeting.

“So they’ll express their views after we’ve approved it?” Cr Rowland asked.

“Yes,” Mr O’Rourke said.

“The consultation is important and without that, I’ll be voting against it,” Cr Rowland told the meeting.

However Cr Kirk said he’d already spoken to both. Moreover, the staff consulted Austroad standards when considering the trees.

“They’re council roads (not RMS) and it’s our decision,” he said.

“We also have a letter from the Rose Committee supporting the proposal provided the roses are relocated in a suitable area and that’s what is proposed. They are well aware of it, as are the RMS and police.

“...I think it will go a long way to (boosting) the beautification process we have underway. Personally, I’d like to see a tree in every roundabout.”