Replanting Richardson, Again

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."
— Proverb.

I always thought this proverb said something about old men knowing they won't live long enough for a newly planted tree to mature. Now I have to think of the possibility it's about men who rip up trees and replant over and over, never giving the trees a chance to grow old.

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On Monday I wondered about a replanting that recently took place in the median of Main Street in downtown Richardson, or the CORE District, as they're calling it. Good sized trees (I estimated 15 feet tall and at least 4 inch diameter trunks) were replaced with vitex shrubs. I had lots of questions. I had few answers. (One question was answered: the new shrubs are, indeed, vitex shrubs, as I suspected. The City calls them "trees", but come on.)

On Wednesday, in the City's Week in Review, a whole new question is raised by the announcement of landscaping work on Main Street that may impact travelers.

New Trees to Impact Travelers in The CORE District this Friday
...
Additionally, work is scheduled next month to remove Vitex trees inadvertently [emphasis added] planted in the Main Street median. These trees will be relocated to other parts of the city, and new trees will be planted in the median next spring.

All replacement trees, including those in front of the Police Department and along Main Street, are species chosen for their ability to grow a shade canopy, aligning with the area's design standards.

Source: City of Richardson.

That word inadvertently is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Merriam-Webster offers these synonyms for inadvertently: unintentionally, accidentally. I doubt this was accidental. The workers with the shovels knew they were planting shrubs. Other synonyms may be unfair: arbitrarily, randomly. I don't want to believe someone at City Hall randomly flipped a coin and said let's plant the vitex. So what happened? Again, dunno. Inadvertently is an altogether inadequate explanation of what's going on at City Hall. Who is in charge? The tab for this series of problems is adding up. Will there ever be a full report on the causes and lessons-learned from all of these "inadvertent" plantings?

"Greatness is the shade,
Not the planting, nor the axe,
Time completes the gift."
—h/t ChatGPT