VENTURA : City Uses Savings to Buy Tree Guards

Savings in the contract to install new street lamps in Ventura’s downtown have allowed city officials to purchase wrought-iron tree guards to protect the new honey locusts the city is planting.

City Planner Pat Richardson said the tree guards will safeguard the honey locusts that will replace the gumdrop-shaped ficus trees cut down last month as part of the $3.5-million downtown renaissance now under way.

“We think it will make the project look a lot nicer,” Richardson said. “It provides some protection for the trees and provides a more finished look.”

Richardson said the revitalization plan budgeted $300,000 for the new street lamps, but the bid came in at about $275,000. The tree guards will cost about $28,000, and Richardson said he will find the $3,000 difference in the budget.

Ventura last month launched a downtown renovation along California and Main streets that, when finished, will boast wider sidewalks, repaved streets and new street lamps in an effort to boost tourism in the city’s commercial core.

Construction crews are working one block at a time, tearing up the sidewalks and installing decorative patterns to create a more desirable look downtown. The four-month project is expected to be completed in early July.

“We had always hoped we could have the tree guards, but we didn’t think we could afford them,” Richardson said. “But we think it’s a nice touch.”