Glen Ellyn Adding More Trees To Downtown Streetscape

GLEN ELLYN, IL — Glen Ellyn has been recognized as a Tree City by the Arbor Foundation for more than 30 years. The village plans to hold on to this distinction and enhance its beauty by adding up to 225 trees as part of its ongoing downtown streetscape project.

Currently, Glen Ellyn has 109 trees along its parkway, according to village officials. The majority of these are honeylocust and callery pear trees. Officials say many of them are declining in health due to "age, disease and lack of growing space."

In total, the village will add between 175 and 225 trees, nearly doubling the number of trees downtown. The village plans limit each single species to no more than 10 percent of the total number of trees to allow for healthy growth and to help prevent disease and infestation.

The new trees will "proactively replace" many of these declining trees, but will also add new greenery downtown. The new trees will be planted up to three feet further from downtown buildings to allow for sidewalks to be widened.

Many of the new trees will be planted individually on raised curbs with soil cells beneath the pavement to allow the trees to grow and thrive. The raised curbs and irrigation systems will help keep the trees free from salt runoff and will help them stay properly watered.

After underground utility maintenance is complete, streetscape construction in downtown Glen Ellyn is projected to start in 2022.