Goodbye to some downtown trees***UP­DATED 4:21 p.m.***


Update: Clare Hanrahan ties herself to one of the pear trees the city is removing in a downtown-wide project..
EARLIER: The city of Asheville is removing some trees in the Central Business District, including these Bradford pears in front of the Haywood Park Hotel. Arborist Mark Foster has noted, ““People planted Bradford pears because they are attractive when they bloom and they are urban tolerant.” Foster says. “It wasn’t until they began falling apart 15 or 20 years later that people realized it wasn’t such a good idea.” …