A project to inventory all trees within the City of Champaign Street rights-of-way was completed this past January. Completion of this project gives the City a valuable digital inventory in GIS format. Public Works staff will now be able to utilize the tree layer in the Work Order / Asset Management system Cityworks. This will allow staff to create service requests and work orders associated with individual trees or groups of trees. Staff time devoted to tree care will be logged in the system. Spatial data analysis of this layer will now be possible allowing trends to be identified and appropriate response plans developed with greater precision. The tree layer will be viewable in the City’s interactive web map soon. This project has given us a better understanding of a vital living asset that contributes to the health and livability of our City.
Some interesting facts about our City Trees:
- Value of the City’s urban tree canopy: $36.5 Million
- Most common trees: 2562 Red Maples, 1663 Sugar Maples, 1556 Silver Maples, 1426 Northern Red Oaks, 1235 Swamp White Oaks
- Total number of tree varieties along our streets: 148
- Trees with a diameter of 4’ or more: 40
- Largest Diameter: 66” – Common Hackberry in the 500 block of west Green
