Wacky World Closed April 16-18 Until 1 PM Each Day to Complete Work
The City of Alpharetta’s Arborist, in collaboration with the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Services Department’s Arborist have worked with Downey Trees to conduct internal and external inspections of trees at Wills Park’s Wacky World. The findings concluded there are five trees within Wacky World in a state of decline and need immediate attention to ensure the safety of the community and postpone the further decline of the tree canopy. Internal probing, using a drilling analysis called Resistograph which measures wood density, has revealed structural weakness and internal decay in these trees. The external inspections found structural flaws, such as root damage, cracks, and cavities at the base which has weakened the trees.
“Our first commitment is to the safety of our community,” said Morgan Rodgers, Director of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Services. “While we love the trees in our parks, once we learned the degree of decay of these five trees, we had to take immediate action to ensure the safety of visitors to Wacky World.”
Three oak trees will be removed, and two other trees, one oak and one sweet gum, will be trimmed. Both trees that require trimming have split into dual trunks, and the trimming will postpone their decline, but they will ultimately require removal in the coming years. The three oaks to be removed have extensive internal decay, and are deemed a safety risk.
The work will take place Monday, April 16 through Wednesday, April 18, 2018, weather permitting. Wacky World will be closed to the public until 1pm each day while the work is in progress. Downey Trees will be conducting the trimming and removal, and plans to work in the morning hours, enabling Wacky World to reopen to the public at 1pm each day.
Wacky World, and the entire Wills Park, will undergo a master plan process later this year, and the landscaping and tree replacement will be part of that process. Trees are ideally planted in early spring and late fall, so the three removed oaks will not be replaced until the fall season. “We look forward to replacing the trees in Wacky World with suitable, shade loving species, ensuring years of playful fun for generations to come,” Rodgers said.