Roundtable set to explore urban trees, public safety

King County, the City of Seattle and the Lighthouse for the Blind are hosting a roundtable discussion on making treed areas safer and more enjoyable for members of the deaf-blind community, Nov. 30 in Seattle.

The roundtable is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hearing, Speech and Deafness Center, at 1625 19th Avenue, Seattle.

Linda Vane, King County Urban Forestry Program Coordinator and the roundtable discussion moderator, said trees in urban settings provide environmental, aesthetic and economic benefits to city dwellers. Research shows that shoppers judge commercial districts with tree-lined streets to be more appealing and are willing to travel more often, longer and over greater distances to shop there.

"Those same trees that provide so many benefits can also present dangerous obstacles for visually impaired pedestrians, including low-hanging branches that can cut a face, or roots that can buckle sidewalks and create tripping hazards," Vane said.

Municipal arborists, landscape designers and pedestrian advocates will meet with members of the blind and deaf-blind communities at the roundtable to discuss attractive and environmentally beneficial streetscape designs that accommodate all people safely.

Panelist members include:

• Iain Robertson, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Adjunct Associate Professor of Environmental Horticulture and Urban Forestry, University of Washington;
• David Levinger, Executive Director, Feet First, a pedestrian advocacy group in Seattle;
• Paul West, Arborist, City of Mercer Island Parks; and
• Liz Ellis, Arborist, Seattle Department of Transportation.

The roundtable is supported in part by grants from the Washington Department of Natural Resources and the USDA Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry Program.