Águilas makes changes to trees in Plaza de la Estación
Forty large white poplars will be planted in the square once it has been remodelled to replace the 11 tipa trees that are currently there
For safety reasons and based on a report drawn up by the company which was awarded the contract for the maintenance of parks and gardens in Águilas, the 11 Tipuana tipu trees located in the green area in front of the train station, which is currently being remodelled, will have to be felled to prevent them from falling over and potentially hurting somebody.
These trees – sometimes known in English as ‘Tipa’, ‘Rosewood’ trees or ‘Pride of Bolivia’ – are currently propped up by metal poles and have a root system which has grown superficially to become embedded and entangled in the concrete slabs of the park.
This has given rise to a double problem: on the one hand, the damage to the hard paving, which had caused numerous upheavals and undercuts, endangering the safety of pedestrians and people in the park, and on the other hand, the impossibility of removing the paving without causing significant damage to the minimum safety area or anchoring the root system.
Furthermore, as explained by the Councillor for Gardens in Águilas, José Luis Moreno, due to the intrinsic characteristics of the Tipuana tipu species, if they were to survive, the vegetative growth would be greater than the growth of their roots, causing an imbalance of loads and counterweights which would considerably increase the risk of the trees falling over.
For these reasons, the councillor announced that the 11 tipa trees that have been affected by this problem will be replaced by a total of forty white poplars which, with a suitable irrigation system, will provide significant shade for the square in about four years’ time.
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Image: Ayuntamiento de Águilas
