Planned removal of cherry trees near Pike Place Market entrance put on pause

The plan to remove cherry trees near the entrance of Pike Place Market has been put on pause as officials evaluate and address community concerns about the proposal.

The trees are called Columnar Sargent Cherry trees. Waterfront Seattle says they were planted in 1980 and are at the end of their healthy lifespan.

Nearly two dozen trees were slated to be cut down starting this week to make room for wider sidewalks and bike lanes in the area.

Jean Bateman with Save the Market Entrance has been lobbying to save the trees and several other historic elements in and around the market. She says the age and lifespan concerns for the trees are not enough reasons to take them down.

“We’re standing on really hallowed ground here; cherry trees is what we would like to see,” said Bateman.

In a statement shared with KIRO 7, a spokesperson with Waterfront Seattle said, “We plan to complete the removal of the trees as a part of upcoming construction on this block so that we can plant new healthy trees while we are rebuilding the sidewalk ... We are planting new street trees (hybrid elms) on that block, as they have been developed by the horticulture and nursery industry specifically to meet street tree standards in terms of form, foliage density, and growth rate.”