As for Councils, we have maintained the trees on our footpath for well over 20 years. It is like a family tradition. One day we were outside pruning them and this Council bloke pulls up to tell us we shouldn't be doing that, as it is a Council job. So next year we left them and you guessed it, nothing happened. The trees got overgrown, got covered in seed which blew everywhere, leaves fell off and blew everywhere, and next thing we had drivers complaining to us that they couldn't see when negotiating the corner. So we go out and start maintaining the trees again. A friend down the road rang the Council to prune their footpath trees. The first year they mangled them, then when they looked all spindly and sick, they removed them a year later. No wonder people generally have a poor perception of local Councils. It is even more ironic when you consider that the same Council was the one who gave people the trees many years ago to plant on their footpaths, and they asked residents to keep them watered during the drought!
