“Even now, you can see the courtroom scene.The aggrieved and angry plaintiff; the solemn city attorney in defense; the insurance photographs of the fallen tree and the mangled vehicle; the personal-injury lawyer waving the plant pathologist’s report before the jury:See! They knew!Fear of liability isn’t the best basis for policy decisions. But given what the city knows about the relative health of two aging maples that find themselves in the way of the Winslow Way East reconstruction project, it’s time to fire up the chainsaw.We can report that a Wednesday city council discussion on the trees’ fate proved mercifully short on rhetoric and long on science. After an informative slide presentation by island plant pathologist Olaf Ribeiro – which demonstrated the challenges established trees face when roads and sidewalks go in nearby – no one seemed anxious to chain themselves to the Winslow maples, estimated at 140 years old. True, Ribeiro noted, no one can say when a tree might give way, and some careful digging and root treatment might buy a little time. If you want them up for the next couple of years, we can do that, he told the council.Problem is, there’s still that pathology report, in which Ribeiro describes the extensive decay with which the trees have been ravaged thanks to a history of poor pruning. At some point, they’re going to come down. It’s just a matter of time. I’m old and I have root rot, countered one local woman,lobbying for the trees’ preservation, and that doesn’t mean I want to be cut down.No, ma’am. But if you fall on the sidewalk, you’re not likely to smash any passersby, either.These trees need to go. Bring ’em down.* * * * *A more interesting issue might be what happens to replacement trees and landscaping after a road project is completed. Wednesday, one city council attendee noted that a number of young trees now lining High School Road are in particularly bad shape. Curious, we conducted our own survey Friday morning. We counted about 125 young trees between Madison Avenue and Ferncliff, most of which we’re guessing were planted after the Oregon Trail reconstruction project of summer 1992. Assuming most were to take root and thrive, you can imagine that in another 5-10 years, High School Road would be a lovely, shady boulevard. But today, alas, the trees run the gamut of health; some are robust and in full summer display, others are withered, leafless and pathetic. If we’re going to put our stock in (for want of a more precise term) urban reforestation, it seems incumbent on someone to actually maintain what’s planted.Tree replacement may begin with the chainsaw, but it doesn’t end with the spade. One pass down High School Road suggests the continuing value of the hose. “