ST. MARYS, Ga. — A traffic nightmare is plaguing downtown St. Marys.
A 300-year-old oak tree has been hit a dozen times now in the past year.
In light of the recent crashes, the St. Marys Police Department is channeling its inner Lorax, and speaking up for the trees.
The St. Marys Police Department took to Facebook to post from the Osborne street tree's perspective.
Saying in part: "I'm tired of getting beat down, slapped, hit, and punched."
The department reports the tree has been hit twelve times in the past year - twice by drivers on their phones, and the rest by drivers under the influence.
"Most of these trees, these large ones, were here before the town was even founded, so I think they're worthy of protection," said St. Marys City Historian Kay Westberry. 'I hate to see them destroyed like this."
Westberry says the tree is named the Flood Oak after one of the city's oldest families.
She says the city owes a lot of its history to its oak trees.
"The live oaks started it because after the revolution, we didn't have a Navy, and the oaks were the wood that was being shipped out of here to the North," said Westberry.
Westberry says the area's historic designation limits some of the possible traffic solutions.
Last month, city crews placed traffic cones around the base temporarily to draw attention, but those were moved during Hurricane Ian.
"We're in the process of lining up to put the striping down and the small delineators down to affect the route around the tree, try to take it further from the tree," said City Manager Robby Horton.
Horton says those dome-style bumps should be placed in the next week or two.
As passionate as she is about the trees, Westberry's main concern is safety.
"It could be a person next time," said Westberry. "If you can't see a giant oak tree, what hope does a person trying to cross the street at nighttime have?"
The city manager says they'll take an undetermined amount of time to evaluate how the traffic domes around the tree work.
He says they have some "outside of the box" thoughts on other possible steps, but those steps would be "dramatic."