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[from A. Smith 4/27/04 pm]

Area 4 a/b Walkabout – Summary

April 24, 2004

Attendees: Teresa Griffin, Tim Mahoney, Terry Franz and Sam Martin

City Staff: Adam Smith

  1. Woodland Avenue – speeding, blind spots, missing or hard to see street signs, large delivery trucks use as cut-thru despite signs posted prohibiting them
  2. Sunset between Fairmont and Mariposa – cars still cut thru area despite barriers, crime and cars parking on closed portion
  3. Trees along Blunn Creek – trees marked with orange spray paint, others tagged. [Parks and Recreation staff told me that the orange spray paint was put on the trees by disc golfers using the park as an unofficial disc golf course.] Is the City conducting a study or those trees marked for trimming or removal? Felled trees due to erosion. Is ball moss harmful to trees? [See below response]
  4. Dye testing – Is the City conducting a study of Blunn Creek?
  5. Travis Heights Elementary School – pick-up/drop off problematic, one-way sign missing at Alameda and Mariposa, street switching from 2-way to one-way causes some confusion and possible safety risks. Improve main pathways to the school.
  6. Footbridge near Travis Heights Elementary – used as vehicular crossing in the past, possible fire damage, is it possible to get bridge historic status
  7. East Live Oak Street – speeding. Are there ways that East Live Oak can be changed to give the street a more local feel rather than its current collector/arterial feel? What were the trees on the south side of the street in front of the apartments removed? Lack of curb ramps on sidewalks to allow access to people in wheelchairs or with strollers
  8. Cascade Apartments – currently zoned Community Commercial (GR). Residents enquired whether a rollback to a multi-family zoning district is possible.
  9. Crime – additional police patrols needed to handle traffic violations and burglaries throughout the neighborhood with frequency near park.
  10. Noise from I-35
  11. Lack of sidewalks on major streets – Alta Vista, Travis Heights
  12. No crosswalk at Annie and Stacy Park
  13. Visibility obstructed due to shrubs or parked cars – Fairmont and Alta Vista; Fairmont and Travis Heights Blvd.

 

I asked my friend Marty Maas to help answer whether ball moss is harmful to trees. Ms. Maas is a doctoral student in biological sciences at UT. Her response is provided below:

Adam,

Ball moss is not harmful to trees- it is an epiphyte, not a parasite!  It is like a bird's nest- it just uses the tree as a place to sit, but not as a food source.  This type of relationship is called commensalistic. 

Ball moss is probably the result, not the cause, of a tree's declining health.  As a tree ages, or perhaps because of disease or competition, it will begin to have more openings in its canopy.  Ball moss uses those existing openings to perch.  It does not affect the tree's ability to photosynthesize.  At least this is the current theory on ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata).

It is very closely related to Spanish Moss which most people find quite attractive.  So try to see the Ball Moss in that light.  It is a graceful little plant- look at its sweet little leaves- they have a soft, furry, light green surface.  They have beautiful little flowers too.

It is also closely related to the pineapple, which is a symbol of friendship.  So perhaps your neighborhoods could adopt Ball Moss as their mascot plant, as a symbol of friendship to all!


Your friend to epiphytes,

Marty