While they may not be able to save all of them, about 20 tree lovers were able to save at least a few trees from imminent removal when they toured Water Street Thursday morning with the town manager, planner, DPW head and others.

The walk-through started at the Baker Street park, headed south to the Blount plant and then back north up Water. Along the way town officials and a town-hired engineer explained their reasoning for removing each marked tree they passed. While they remained steadfast on the removal of most, citizens were able to convince them to take a few, here and there, off the removal list. Those trees that received amnesty were tied with green ribbons by State Street resident Davison Bolster, who brought green for them and red for those that will ultimately come down. The plan now is for the trees to start coming down following the Warren Holiday Festival.

“I brought three (rolls) of each”color, Mr. Bolster said. “That way I wasn’t emotional and I wasn’t making any decisions.”

Thursday’s walk-through came after a long public hearing Tuesday night to discuss the removal of as many as 27 trees, all scheduled to go under the “Water Street Streetscape” program.

The plan, first laid out six years ago and approved in 2014, is to run new gas, sewer and other utility lines along central and northern Water Street, repair sidewalks and curbs, and lay a new road surface. The plan also includes the removal of what was originally planned to be 41 trees that have either buckled the sidewalks around them, are too sickly and compromised to stay healthy, or had to be removed to accommodate handicap access along the planned sidewalks. That number was reduced to 27 after an earlier walk-through about two weeks ago, and at least three more were added to the saved list Thursday morning.

Warren Town Manager Jan Reitsma said the marked trees will likely start coming down the week of the 28th, when National Grid workers come in and take down canopies. Workers from the DPW will follow soon after, removing the rest of them. That’s a change that came following the public hearing; previously, the plan was to take all there trees down prior to the holiday festival.

Thursday’s walk-through drew passionate requests on both sides of the issue. Warren Tree Commission Chairman Chuck Staton said he was glad for the tour, as he said tree commission members thought during the project’s planning stages that some of the marked trees could be saved.

“This way we can hear the reasoning,” he said. “It’s good.”

Mike Dowhan, an engineer with Diprete Engineering, led the tour. At each stop along the way, he explained the reasoning for taking down each tree. Though some look strong and healthy, he said they must still come down for various reasons. For instance, about 40 percent of the trees marked for removal are Norway Maples, which have shallow root systems that tend to buckle sidewalks. That is what has happened up and down Water, he said. Buckled, undulating sidewalks aren’t compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act — a must for a state-funded project like this one. Cutting shallow roots to allow for a flat sidewalk won’t work either, he said, as undermining a tree’s root structure will ultimately stress or outright kill it.

“A quarter of a century ago, Norway Maples were introduced to the United States and everybody started planting them because they have great form, good fall color and they’re really fast growers,” Mr. Dowhan said. “The problem with fast-growing trees is that they tend to be very weak, the same thing as the Callery pears we see down there. The faster a tree grows, the weaker the wood is. That’s why we use a lot of gingkos now because they’re attractive and they have really really strong wood that can withstand New England weather.”

“We’ve learned not to use Norway Maples anymore; as a matter of fact you can’t even really buy them at the nurseries anymore because nobody sells them.”

Warren Town Planner Kate Michaud said the plan all along has been to re-populate Water Street with trees, and those that are used will include gingkos and other appropriate species. Though they’ll be much smaller — planted trees will general have a girth of about three to three and a half inches to start — they’ll be more suitable for a place like Water Street, with lots of sidewalks, overhead utility lines and a narrow roadway. In addition, many more trees than are taken down will be replaced, she said.

“The tree species that we’re introducing all have a more narrow canopy, and that’s by design,” Mr. Dowhan added. “They also have stronger root systems. We’re trying to re-green the street as best we can, but we’re trying to be smart about the species that we’re replacing with so that 25 years from now, all of our kids aren’t having this same conversation with Jan (Reitsma’s) son. We’re trying to mitigate that sort of stuff.”

“A lot of thought was put into it. Believe me, we don’t like taking down trees,” he said. “I’ve spent the last 26 years of my life putting trees in the ground, not taking them out.”

Some residents said that while they’ll leave the science to the experts, taking down the trees now is an affront to Warren, its traditions and spirit. Couldn’t something be done, they asked, to light at least the trees that are being saved?

“The timing is horrible. The approach is horrible. The orange paint (signifying trees to be removed) is horrible,” Podsnappery/Galactic Theatre owner David Podsnap said. “At the bare minimum, please put lights on the trees you’re saving after today. I’ll volunteer and help.”

Mr. Reitsma said the town will do what it can to light as many trees as possible prior to the holiday festival, without interfering with the work that needs to be done. He said that while the town’s timeline may not look good, it was laid out for a specific reason:

“In order for the construction to start as early as possible next spring, we had to get this tree work done now. Otherwise it will postpone construction, which for some people would be great news, but not for the residents or business people I believe.”

“I’m begging you, basically, please understand that we need to do this now,” he added. “To the extent that we are saving trees, which we are all trying to do, we will try to find a way to make those (saved trees) available for wrapping in lights. There’s not that much time left, but I know John (Massed, of the DPW) will try, Marilyn Mathison (from the Warren Holiday Festival) will try.”

As he talked, gathered with the rest of the group around a large, healthy maple near State Street, a woman in a Subaru drove by and yelled, “That’s a saver!”

After a bit more discussion, Mr. Massed shrugged, nodded and said, “OK, we’ll take a chance.”

Wasting no time, Mr. Bolster pulled a roll of green ribbon out of his bag.