Tree Protection for Street Corridor Development in Massachusetts

Massachusetts is home to millions of trees located not only in forests but also along streets and roadways in urban, suburban, and rural environments. The people living in these communities rely on street trees to provide necessary ecosystem services, such as shading and cooling, or stormwater mitigation. MassDOT has developed a comprehensive capital improvement project to facilitate the necessary improvements of pedestrian and cycling pathways statewide that will impact the existing urban forest ecosystem. MassDOT is seeking a cohesive collection of best practice standards to ensure that urban forest health and preservation remains a priority in these upcoming transportation improvement projects. The information gathered from the survey and discussion with the expert panel will be used to create a comprehensive guide that will be an overview of current best practices to inform planting and tree protection management techniques during construction. This review will inform strategies applied across the state that will prioritize street trees during development and foster thriving urban forests for all. This work will provide a framework for the reimagining of the Commonwealth’s transportation corridors as functional urban green spaces that will grow alongside their communities.

• Record URL:
  • https://umass-my.sharepoint.com/personal/mattmann_umass_edu/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fmattmann%5Fumass%5Fedu%2FDocuments%2FResearch%20reports%2Ffinal%20reports%2FStreetTrees%5FJune2024%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fmattmann%5Fumass%5Fedu%2FDocuments%2FResearch%20reports%2Ffinal%20reports&ga=1
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/77732
• Corporate Authors:

  Department of Environmental Conservation

  160 Holdsworth Way
  Amherst, MA  United States  01003

  Massachusetts Department of Transportation

  Office of Transportation Planning
  Boston, MA  United States 

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Mahoney, Delia
  • Kane, Brian
• Publication Date: 2024-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 81p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bikeways; Complete streets; Forests; Highway corridors; Improvements; Pedestrian areas; Roots; Trees
• Geographic Terms: Massachusetts
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01932050
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 24-055
• Contract Numbers: AK0000000016931
• Files: NTL, TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 26 2024 3:30PM