The long period of high heat over Christmas saw the leaves begin to fall, providing an autumnal carpet in the Murray and Hay street malls, but also creating a potential slip hazard.
At the peak of the leaf drop in December, the malls were being swept mechanically twice a night.
Daytime cleaning continued, to ensure against pedestrian slip hazards. The City’s Parks staff added their expertise, to reduce the windrows of leaves on the streets, where possible.
Some trees lost more than 50 per cent of their canopy and water was tanked in to irrigate the trees, to help reduce heat stress.
With the additional water, the trees are recovering well and City staff will be prepared for any more heatwaves.
