I read with great interest your article concerning the commemorative tiles on Swarthmore, and Palisades PRIDE, the nonprofit that installed them (April 20). I was surprised to hear about the substantial amount of money residing in the coffers of this organization.
In 1998, representatives from PRIDE contacted me. It had come to their attention that I was the person installing the bricks around all the palm trees in town, and they correctly figured that I could help them.
Gravel had been put in the new cutouts around the ficus trees on Sunset after roots were trimmed. The space around the ficus trees had been left unpaved to alleviate the cracking of the sidewalks from the roots of the trees. The gravel had been spreading over the sidewalks and into the streets. I told them that pavers could be set around the trees, after the gravel had been removed. I agreed to perform this work for them.
I installed pavers around every ficus tree on Sunset. Of course, the gravel had to be removed first. I took truckload after truckload of gravel from around the trees, then set the pavers in sand. It was a grueling task that I performed for a very small sum; I believe $1,500 all told.
At the time, I stressed that the pavers would have to be picked up and the roots trimmed when new root growth disrupted them; then they could simply be replaced. That was 18 years ago, and anyone walking down Sunset today can see that in many cases the pavers have been displaced by the growth of the roots.
Might I suggest that PRIDE hire someone to perform this work before someone is seriously injured tripping over the pavers?
Gregory Willis
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