New planting areas will be established on five streets in the inner city:
- Eerikinkatu
- Alppikatu
- Kinaporinkatu
- Päijänteentie
- Kuortaneenkatu
Depending on the conditions, street trees, ligneous shrubs, and perennials will be planted on these sites. A total of 17 parking spaces will be removed as they will be replaced by the new planting areas.
The areas were selected because they have relatively little urban vegetation. The suitability of the landscape and municipal infrastructure has also affected the selection of the planting sites.
On some of the sites, pedestrian crossings will be shortened to improve traffic safety. In addition, the damaged trunk guards of the local street trees will be replaced and the streets’ asphalt and levelling will be repaired.
The aim is to test the suitability of different plant species in the street environment. At the same time, the impact that plantings have on stormwater management is being studied.
In accordance with its City Strategy, the City of Helsinki aims to increase the amount of urban vegetation. The changes now being made are part of a broader objective.
“Similar solutions for increasing the amount of urban vegetation have been implemented in places such as Paris and Stockholm. The experiments being conducted are a way to see how suitable the solutions are for Helsinki,” says Project Manager Heikki Takainen from the Urban Environment Division.
The alteration work will start on Kinaporinkatu with excavation work in the week starting on 7 August. The aim is to complete the work in September–October.