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Street Tree

ELM-STT-28
Recommended Element

Street Tree

A tree planted along a street, typically within the sidewalk zone or a landscaped buffer, providing shade, stormwater interception, visual buffering from traffic, and streetscape character.

Related Media

The items below come from outside the Commonway System, external videos, podcasts, and articles related to this page's topic, not part of the guidebook itself.

This is the key to safer streets Aligned

This is the key to safer streets

Streetcraft

A full traffic-calming toolkit walkthrough, plastic mini-roundabouts, curb extensions, chicanes, the speed bump/hump/cushion/table family, and a Cincinnati road-diet case study with dramatic before/after crash data.

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#Why this pattern exists

Street trees do measurable work beyond aesthetics, they reduce pedestrian-level heat, intercept a portion of rainfall before it reaches the storm system, and provide a visual and physical buffer between pedestrians and moving traffic; this pattern exists to document species selection, spacing, and root-space considerations that determine whether a tree thrives or struggles in a street environment.

#Key considerations

  • Adequate below-grade root space and soil volume must be planned for at installation; insufficient space is the leading cause of poor street tree survival and growth1
  • Species selection should account for mature canopy size relative to available overhead and sidewalk clearance, utility conflicts, and local climate tolerance
  • Spacing should balance canopy coverage goals against sightline requirements at driveways, crossings, and intersections

Tree Pit/Tree Trench (ELM-TPT-29) (the below-grade element supporting this pattern); Landscaped Buffer Strip (ELM-LBS-30) (a common zone this pattern is planted within)

#References

  1. Evidence-based Lindsey, J.P. and Bassuk, N. (1991), "Specifying Soil Volumes to Meet the Water Needs of Mature Urban Street Trees and Trees in Containers," Journal of Arboriculture 17(6). Peer-reviewed formula (approximately 2 cubic ft of soil per sq ft of mature canopy) underlying the claim that insufficient space is the leading cause of poor street tree survival.(opens in new tab)

Suggest changes to this page (opens in new tab) Text-only version Last updated September 26, 2026

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