Why BART Axed Trees at Del Norte Station

Some El Cerritans have been scratching their heads over the disappearance of trees around the del Norte BART station. The eucalyptus trees that once lined Key Boulevard, Liberty Street and Hill Street are now raw stumps, some topped with an orange cone.

While BART continues adding to the station at El Cerrito Plaza, a separate project is underway to improve station access and repair sidewalks around El Cerrito del Norte. The project began with removing the 50-year-old eucalyptus trees along the surrounding streets, which will be replaced by new trees. The project will also include path and signage improvements to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines. The work is scheduled to be completed in April. 

The history of the project dates back more than 45 years. In 1965, the BART Board of Directors authorized the transfer of the sidewalks and curbs at both El Cerrito stations to the City of El Cerrito once construction of the stations was complete, Linton Johnson said. Somewhere along the way, however, the transfer never went through. 

Meanwhile, the overgrown eucalyptus trees created “a continuous maintenance problem for BART,” Johnson said in an email. Over the years, the sidewalks in the neighborhoods surrounding del Norte were damaged by the eucalyptus trees, according to Johnson. “Trees were breaking up sidewalks in those areas,” he said. “The branches were potentially hazardous. They were causing damage to cars.”

Funding to make the improvements finally arrived in 2007, under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under this Act, the Federal Transit Administration mandated that BART make improvements to the station such as updating several curb ramps, creating some new directional signs and construct a new ramp and stairs near the Ohlone Greenway crossing at the north end of the parking structure. This project was merged together with the desire to address the eucalyptus problem.

The tree removal project is not without some controversy. “I know their roots were causing sidewalk problems. But, come on! Take out all of them?” wrote Helen Couture Rodriguez about the tree removal in our . Rodriguez then asked why the community wasn’t warned or consulted about the decision.

“El Cerrito was never known as a tree friendly city,” Patch user George McRae wrote in response, criticizing the city's tolerance of what he termed "arborside-as-good-for-society." McRae also pointed to the Fruitvale or Pleasant Hill stations to see what BART has in mind for El Cerrito del Norte. “Key phrases like ‘high density urban infill’ and ‘urban village’ and ‘mixed use development’ are some of the terms used by developers and supporters in the staff,” McRae said. 

Johnson defended the tree removal. “The trees were at the end of their lifespan," he said. "They were going to be dead shortly.”

Johnson said the City of El Cerrito hired an arborist in 2006 to prepare a study on the condition of the trees around the del Norte and El Cerrito Plaza stations. According to Johnson, the arborist concluded several of the trees had health issues that made them safety risks, such as poor stem attachments. 

The arborist also pointed out a longevity problem posed by the overgrown trees. If BART were only to repair the damaged sidewalk, so much of the tree’s root system would need to be removed that there was a less likely chance the tree could survive. 

The offending trees are being replaced with African Yew Pines and Brisbane Boxes. Both of these evergreens were recommended by the arborist and are included on the City of El Cerrito’s Recommended Master Street Tree List. The City classifies both as medium-sized and drought resistant.  

Johnson said the new trees will include the type soil in the tree wells that will allow the roots to grow downward, as required by the City, and thus not damage the sidewalks.

The total cost of the tree removal is $32,150, said BART spokesman James K. Allison in an email.