In summer the streets are straightened, in autumn and winter it is the turn of the trees and bushes on the roadside. As announced by the Freising State Building Authority, work on wood care along federal, state and district roads as well as the adjacent cycle paths will begin in the entire district. Some roads would have to be closed for this.
“Trees and bushes fulfill important functions along roads: They serve, among other things, as privacy, glare and wind protection. They also provide a habitat for mammals, birds and insects,” emphasizes the authority. Without regular care, the trees could become a source of danger: sick and old trees lose their stability and could endanger motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. Branches protruding into the traffic area could damage vehicles. A clear view in curves and along the route must also be guaranteed. Likewise, signs, delineators, traffic lights and crossings should not be covered by plants.
“Road safety is the decisive criterion for us. But we are also aware of this sensitive issue. Our aim is to intervene as little as possible and as much as necessary in our wooded population,” explains Hans Jörg Oelschlegel, Head of Road Construction at the Freising State Building Authority . “Maintenance measures on trees and bushes serve to preserve them in the long term.” The maintenance of the trees is done by the Riem road maintenance depot or by contracted companies.
A small part of the wood remains in place, where it offers a new habitat for mushrooms, plants, insects and birds as dead wood or piled up in piles of brushwood. The much larger part is removed, however, so that the stocks can rejuvenate themselves and sprout root stocks again. The clippings are recycled and used for energy, for example as chopped biomass.
Bushes that have been cut back to about ten to twenty centimeters above the ground would initially look very bare, admits the authority. “However, this method helps nature to rejuvenate and reposition itself.” A relatively short time later, the trimmed plants formed new shoots again.