Please explain why, or why not.

This is a follow up to my loss leader post.  You should read it before voting. 

A very quick summary is this :-

Click here to expand the rest of this article

Here is the scenario: some of our roads are wide (some have 4-6 lanes … like Steeles, Derry, Thompson etc) while others are just wide (like Scott Blvd, even though South of Derry it is not a through street and ends pretty soon). I personally would like to see a median down the middle with trees.

I worked in Washington, DC for two years and they (and MD touching it) does that where almost every road has a median with multiple rows of trees (in Gaithersburg, MD near my friend’s house they have three rows of trees in the middle median!) I blogged about it here: http://www.zhamid.ca/opinion/update-from-dc-holy-trees/.

The advantages are greater than just fresh air and a more pleasing look or higher property values that result from a nicer area. Trees in wider roads also create a perception of narrowness without actually creating narrow roads. This has been known to cut down on speeding.

I spoke with a few town councillors and staff and they told me that the town does not want to increase its standards because it is worried about the operating cost (understandable, although I would say Milton should look like an Escarpment Community that it is).

Here is a solution: let businesses or residents sponsor trees that are above and beyond the town standard.

So lets say the town puts up a median on Scott Blvd and Mattamy sponsors 10 trees on it. It gets to put a sign saying "sponsored by Mattamy" or something like that. Residents in areas may be able to do the same. I can totally see local churches or non-profits sponsoring chunk of trees, at least around their neighbourhoods.

This cannot happen unless the town provides a mean to enable this. The town will have to designate areas where extra trees can go. Places where it’s “nice to have trees but Town Standard does not require one”.

Would you support this?

Update I learned that Oakville has a similar program for flower beds and stuff: http://www.oakville.ca/oakvilleblooms.htm. Can Milton not do something similar for trees? From Oakville Bloom site:

Oakville Blooms – Median and Boulevard Sponsorship Program

The Oakville Blooms Median and Boulevard Sponsorship program offers civic minded businesses, groups, individuals and organizations an opportunity to help Oakville attain its vision of becoming the most livable town in Canada. The program transforms medians and boulevards into vibrant and impressive floral displays.
From May to September each year, medians and boulevards throughout Oakville are planted with annual flowers grown in the Oakville Greenhouse. Plant materials are selected for their brilliant colours and variety in texture, and their tolerance to adverse roadway conditions. All of the boulevards are designed, planted and maintained by Town horticulture specialists.

To offset the costs of planting and maintaining these floral displays, Oakville is launching this innovative program whereby private citizens, businesses and organizations can contribute funds by sponsoring specific locations throughout the Town.

For more information:
Please see the links in the table below or call 905-845-6601, ext. 3610 for details about sponsor benefits, how the program works, rates and locations.

Sponsorship applications:
Applications are now being accepted at the Recreation and Culture Department at Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Road. Every effort will be made to accommodate sponsor’s first choice in floral display location, however, selection is on a first come, first served basis. Date and time of receipt of payment will determine queue order for sponsorship applications. In-person applications will take priority over electronic

It seems like they identified different medians, they maintain them and publish rates for sponsoring these medians. Interested businesses just pay money and magic happens. Seems like a wonderful approach.