Sycamores Sacrificed in the Name of Soccer

Has anyone noticed the sycamore trees down in the park off Stoney Drive in the Arroyo Seco? Well, take notice: the city of South Pasadena is chopping them down for the sake of a soccer field. Hundred-year-old trees gone forever so we can have another soccer field.

It’s not like the city has no place for children to play soccer. For the last year, all we have heard about is preservation. Here we have a good example of what’s important and what’s not in South Pasadena. These sycamore trees were planted in the 1890s by South Pasadena people for all of South Pasadena to enjoy, planted in a park where you would think they would be safe. Gone in one day, a living tree destroyed, because they need a few more feet for a soccer field, when in fact the children wouldn’t know the difference.

These trees took a lifetime to grow. They can never be replaced. We need to protect trees 50 years and older, or they will all be gone. What will stop them from cutting more down whenever they need to develop just a few more feet? The Arroyo Seco in South Pasadena is turning into one big serial baseball, soccer field, and we need to appreciate what we already have: a wonderful park with beautiful old sycamore trees that should be saved.

PAMELA CASEBEER

South Pasadena