Spring has graced our town with vibrant blooms, lush greenery, and renewed life. As our gardens flourish, so do the less desirable elements—those pesky weeds and nuisance trees. This can be especially problematic in the public Right-of-Way (ROW) areas adjacent to properties.
The public ROW along the streets of town includes everything from the center of the street to the edge of people’s lawns. The area between the curb and the sidewalk is sometimes referred to as the tree lawn, and it also needs to be kept mowed and trimmed. Plants, bushes, and trees need to be trimmed so that they do not hang into the sidewalk. This is so that they do not impede people walking along the sidewalk. All vegetation should be kept trimmed back from the curb so that people can park along the street and be able to exit their vehicle without fighting their way through a jungle.
The ROW in the alley runs from the center of the alley nine feet towards your property. Regardless of any fence placement, this area also needs to be maintained just as you would maintain your backyard. Grass or weeds need to be mowed; trees and bushes need to be trimmed. Because our alleys are often used as people enter and exit their properties it is important that we keep them as clear and well-maintained as possible. Overgrown bushes and weeds can provide concealment for criminals, make driving down the alleys unsafe, scratch vehicles, and present a fire hazard.
One exceptionally large problem that we have in town is the number of invasive trees that can be found both in the public ROW areas and on peoples’ properties. The two most common are the Tree of Heaven, and the Siberian Elm. Both types of trees spread quickly and are hard to get rid of once they get established. Their roots can cause enormous damage to sewer systems. If you find either of these trees growing on or adjacent to your property in the ROW, please be sure to cut them back. If you would like assistance from Public Works in identifying these trees, feel free to reach out to us. We have been working to educate ourselves and the community about the hazards these nuisance trees pose and how best to contain them. We’ve created a brochure to help identify the most common invasive trees in Mountain View, and you can obtain one at Town Hall, or just reach out and we’ll email you one if you prefer. We are here to assist you, and we’re happy to help. You can reach us at publicworks@tomv.org.
Let us all work together, so that we can be proud of our beautiful town and keep it safe, tidy, and easy to navigate for everyone from families with strollers, to people walking dogs, to those using assistive devices such as canes and wheelchairs, and everyone in between. Thank you.
