Where are the trees?

I am a part-time resident of State College. I lived here full time from 1997-2012. Downtown State College was always charming. It may not have had every convenience, but it was always a pleasant place to spend a few hours.

On June 22, I had a couple of errands to run downtown, and, with a couple hours to kill, decided to walk around and see what was new. My tour was quite short. On this 80-plus-degree day, I found the heat downtown unbearable. Why? Absolutely no trees. Block after block of brick sidewalks and blazing heat. I noticed a handful of saplings — not all alive. The plaza next to the Fraser Street garage was a blinding void.

Downtown State College has become as attractive and welcoming as a Walmart parking lot.

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why there are no trees. Are they considered a liability? Are we worried that a limb will fall on someone? Worried that someone will trip over a root? Well, it won’t be me, as I have no interest in going into that desert again.

This story was originally published June 24, 2017 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Where are the trees?."