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'Let it grow:' St. Marys drivers constantly plow into historic oak trees

One resident who lives near the trees says he's seen at least eight crashes since the start of 2022.

ST. MARYS, Ga. — Two of St. Marys oldest landmarks are in danger.

Two oak trees that have stood in the middle of downtown for more than a century have become the victims of several car crashes.

"These are some of the oldest trees we have in downtown St. Marys with quite a bit of history," said Justin Conway, who lives near the trees. "There's no reason we shouldn't be trying to prolong their life."

Conway has quite the view from his front window, two giant oak trees that have stood for as long as anyone can remember.

A salon in downtown even has a picture of the trees in the 1890s while downtown was still being developed.

But for the past few months, Conway finds himself asking the same question:

"Why are so many people hitting the tree?"

Conway has a front row seat to the sounds of brakes squealing and glass shattering, and he winds up being the one to check to see if the drivers are okay.

"The cars are totaled," said Conway. "They're destroyed. It's very lucky nobody's died yet."

It hasn't happened just once or twice - he says he's seen at least eight cars plow into the tree since the start of the year.

Conway says he notified city officials about the issue after one of the first wrecks six months ago, but nothing changed until two more cars smashed into the tree last week.

The city council discussed the issue at a meeting this week, and placed a few dozen traffic cones all around the trees.

"Our city seal is an oak tree," said City Manager Robby Horton. "They mean a lot to us. We have a lot of pride in our old oaks. We're trying to preserve them as long as we can."

Horton says all eight of the drivers were either drunk or distracted when they hit the oaks.

For now, the city is going to try a temporary measure by putting in raised speed tiles and poles to catch drivers' attention, while working with an engineer to see if the intersection needs to be changed completely.

Conway wants more to be done and is hoping they 'get to the root' of the issue while the trees can still be saved.

"This is an opportunity to do something about it, and protect the resources that are here," said Conway.

An arborist is scheduled to assess the health of the tree to determine the extent of the damage.

The city council is expected to discuss the issue in more detail at an October meeting.

    

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