Hunter
04/16/24
The University of Iowa community is reportedly upset about a decision to remove over 100 new-and old-growth trees to make room for a new road on campus.
The Gazette reports the 1,500-foot artery and a connected roundabout will link Newton Road and the fountain entrance of the UI Hospitals and Clinics. This project will make way for construction of a new inpatient tower.
However to do so, the UI removed or relocated 126 trees over spring break.
A letter employees plan to send to the administration this week will express their disappointment with not being involved in the decision. They said the trees provide shade, reduce stress for people walking nearby, and provide habitat for animals.
Stratis Giannakouros, director of the UI Office of Sustainability and the Environment, said in a prepared statement that 23 of the removed trees were moved to other locations on campus, and the others will be replaced with new trees in the area or elsewhere on campus. He added that the campus is home to over 8000 trees and has been accredited as a Level II arboretum through the website ArbNet.
The road project is expected to cost $17.5 million; the inpatient tower project is estimated at $1 billion.