March 29, 2017

Dahir Mohamed
District Department of Transportation

Re: Florida Avenue Multimodal Transportation Study

Dear Dahir,

Casey Trees is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, with a mission “to restore, enhance, and protect the tree canopy of the Nation’s capital.” To fulfill this mission, we plant trees; monitor the city’s tree canopy; and work with government officials, developers, and residents to prioritize the District’s trees and to encourage tree planting on both public and private property. We are dedicated to helping the District reach its 40 percent tree canopy goal by 2032 – an achievable goal only if the District actively grows the city’s urban forest.

In order to create a greener Florida Avenue and work toward the District’s environmental goals, we urge DDOT to consider the following:

Plant Trees Along Florida Avenue:
• Between 4th Street NE and Benning Road NE (see Figure 1 below)
• Between New York Avenue NE and M Street NE

Prioritize Large Trees
Streets lined with shade trees have a traffic calming effect, which keeps drivers and pedestrians safe. Plant large trees to cool streets and maximize environmental benefits. Select medium or large trees for all tree boxes or planting strips with at least 1,000 cubic feet of soil.

Maintain Tree Diversity
Planting multiple tree species along Florida Avenue will increase resilience, helping to achieve one of the District’s top goals in its Climate Ready DC plan. To be truly resilient, the 10-20-30 rule for tree diversity should be followed. The rule suggests planting plans should include only 10% of any one species, 20% of any one genus, and 30% of any one family of trees. Casey Trees’ Urban Tree Selection Guide can also be consulted to identify street trees ideal for Florida Avenue.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Casey Trees would be happy to work with you to provide tree-related analyses for the Florida Avenue Multimodal Transportation Study. If you have any questions about these recommendations, please feel free to contact me at ktaddei@caseytrees.org.

Sincerely,
Kristin Taddei
Planning Advocate

Figure 1. The Nature Conservancy’s publication, Planting Healthy Air, shows the potential impact of street tree
planting in reducing air particulate matter (PM) in Washington, DC. Dark green areas of the map (66% of the Florida
Avenue transportation study area) indicate a high return on investment. Therefore, planting street trees along
Florida Avenue NE between 4th Street NE and Benning Road NE would have a greater impact to reduce PM and
increase community health in this area of the city.

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