“An environmental catastrophe” is how Myrtle Stiaszny, who has lived on the same Overland Park cul-de-sac for more than 40 years, described what replacing the sidewalks in her Quail Ridge neighborhood would mean. She told the city that at least a dozen mature oak and maple trees would have to come out, the Johnson County Post reported. The City Council has since adopted updated street reconstruction rules that now require a tree survey before a neighborhood is rebuilt.
Quail Ridge’s Cul-de-Sac and the Sidewalk Rule
Quail Ridge is scheduled for a street reconstruction project in 2027. Under the old rules, Stiaszny objected, sidewalks were required as part of the work. She said residents on her cul-de-sac agree they neither need nor want one.
She spoke during public comment at a council meeting earlier in 2026 and urged the city at an August council meeting to reconsider the rules, the Post reported. Her point about the trees was specific: replacing the existing sidewalks, she said, would take out at least a dozen mature oaks and maples.
What the New Tree Survey Requires
Before a project starts, crews must now inventory each tree that could be affected, recording its location, species, size and general condition. The Post reported that the city had already been trialing the practice before making it a rule.
New standards also aim to limit tree removal where possible and require replacing lost trees to maintain or improve a neighborhood’s tree canopy…