Attitudes of Residents Toward Street Trees on Four Streets in Toledo, Ohio, U.S. Before Removal of Ash Trees (Fraxinus spp.) from Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)

Joseph Heimlich; T. Davis Sydnor; Matthew Bumgardner; Patrick O’Brien

doi:10.48044/jauf.2008.007

Article Figures & Data

Tables

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Table 1.

Residents were questioned how important each of the reasons was to them in terms of how well they liked the street on which they lived.^{^z}

Reasons	Mean^{^y}	Standard deviation	Median	Mode
Feeling safe	6.67	0.83	7	7
The cleanliness of the street	6.32	0.71	6	7
The attractiveness of the street	6.27	0.72	6	7
The value of the houses	6.03	1.08	6	7
The mature trees on the street	6.03	1.04	6	7
The proximity to necessities (groceries, stores)	5.94	1.18	6	6
The neighbors	5.93	1.06	6	7
Being a good area for children to play	5.93	1.33	6	7
The amount of traffic	5.92	1.06	6	7
The landscaping people have in front of their houses	5.54	1.17	6	5
The style of houses/homes/apartments	5.44	1.27	5	5
Knowing my neighbors	5.33	1.31	5	5
Summated mean	5.91	0.59

↵^zAnswers are ranked from highest mean to the lowest. Mean, median, and mode as well as the standard deviation of the mean are given for each answer.
↵^yRatings ranged from 1 = not at all important to 7 = very important.

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Table 2.

Residents were questioned about the trees lining their street and asked how important these reasons were to them in determining the appeal of their street.^{^z}

Reasons regarding street trees	Mean^{^y}	Standard deviation	Median	Mode
They make the street prettier	6.26	1.04	7	7
The shade cools the street and the homes	6.22	0.92	7	4
The way the trees stretch over the street is inviting	6.16	1.13	7	7
The large size of the trees	5.67	1.35	6	7
The color in the fall	5.67	1.31	6	6
They increase my property’s value	5.39	1.52	6	7
They reduce wind	5.19	1.59	5	7
They lower utility bills	5.06	1.69	5	5
The look of the trunk and branches in the winter	4.78	0.92	5	5
They are all the same size	3.95	1.80	4	4
They are all alike	3.81	1.78	4	4
Each tree is different	3.70	1.74	4	4
They help make a neighborhood feel safe	3.69	1.67	4	6

↵^zAnswers are ranked from highest mean to the lowest. Mean, median, and mode as well as the standard deviation of the mean are given for each answer.
↵^yRatings ranged from 1 = does not relate to 7 = major reason.

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Table 3.

The following questions asked how residents might value the following characteristics of trees on their street.^{^z}

Abbreviated characteristics	Mean^{^y}	Standard deviation	Median	Mode
Strong branches	6.00	1.48	7	7
The size of the trees as they mature	5.78	1.47	6	7
The way the trees stretch across the street	5.73	1.48	6	7
Color of the leaves in the fall	5.62	1.45	6	6
Various shades of green of different trees	5.05	1.76	5	6
Flowers or blooms	4.87	1.58	5	5
Dense foliage (leaves)	4.78	1.64	5	6
Texture of the leaves	4.11	1.84	4	5
Large leaves	4.05	1.72	4	4
Small leaves	3.80	1.70	4	4
Showy bark for winter	3.65	1.75	4	4
Small or unimportant fruit	2.70	1.63	3	1
Large or showy fruit	2.69	1.60	3	1

↵^zAnswers were ranked from highest mean to the lowest. Mean, median, and mode as well as the standard deviation of the mean are given for each answer.
↵^yRatings ranged from 1 = not at all important to 7 = completely.

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Table 4.

Residents were questioned regarding their attitudes toward maintenance concerns associated with trees on their street.^{^z}

Street tree concerns	Mean^{^y}	Standard deviation	Median	Mode
the way the tree roots (damage to sidewalks)	5.11	1.71	5	7
Seeds and seedlings from the tree	3.94	2.11	4	1
Maintenance of the trees on my tree lawn	3.68	2.02	4	4
Raking leaves in the fall	3.32	1.86	4	1
Summated mean	4.01	1.53	4

↵^zAnswers were ranked from highest mean to the lowest. Mean, median, and mode as well as the standard deviation of the mean are given for each answer.
↵^yRatings ranged from 1 = not at all important to 7 = serious concern.

	Not at all important					Very important
The neighbors	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The style of houses/homes/apartments	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Feeling safe	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Knowing my neighbors	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The amount of traffic	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Being a good area for children to play	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The proximity to necessities (groceries, stores)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The value of the houses	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The attractiveness of the street	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The mature trees on the street	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The landscaping people have in front of their houses	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The cleanliness of the street	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

	Not at all						Very much
Overall, do you like the street you live on?	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

	Does not relate					Major reason
They help make a neighborhood feel safe	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The shade cools the street and the homes	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
They reduce wind	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The way the trees stretch over the street is inviting	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The large size of the trees	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
They increase my property’s value	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
They lower utility bills	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
They make the street prettier	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
They are all alike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
They are all the same size	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Each tree is different	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The color in the fall	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The look of the trunk and branches in the winter	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

	Not at all					Completely
Flowers or blooms	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Large or showy fruit	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Small or unimportant fruit	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Showy bark for winter	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Large leaves	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Small leaves	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Dense foliage (leaves)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Texture of the leaves	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Color of the leaves in the fall	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Various shades of green of different trees	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The way the trees stretch across the street	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
The size of the trees as they mature	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Strong branches	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

	Not at all					Serious Concern
The way the tree roots (damage to sidewalks)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Raking leaves in the fall	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Seeds and seedlings from the tree	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Maintenance of the trees on my tree lawn	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Finally, just a little bit about your household:
Do you:		Own		Rent
You have lived in your house:		______________________years
Are there children under 18 years of age in your household?		Yes		No