Tree Removal in Lockport, NY

Tree Removal in Lockport has to account for the land itself. The city was built where the Erie Canal climbs the Niagara Escarpment, a natural drop of about 60 feet that the canal locks were designed to lift barges over. High Street, the highest street in town, sits at about 650 feet. Many lots slope, step down to retaining walls or back onto the canal cut. Felling a tree on a slope changes how it moves, and lowering wood downhill toward a wall or a neighbor's house takes careful rigging.

Old canal-city housing

Lockport was laid out around the locks in the 1820s and incorporated as a city in 1865. Its older neighborhoods have narrow lots and big shade trees, some of them likely planted when the houses were new. Census QuickFacts shows a 58.8% owner-occupied rate and a median owner-occupied value of $139,900 for the city's 20,876 residents. With so many rentals, it helps that estimates and approvals can be handled with an absentee owner by phone, email and photos.

Wind is the big one

Lockport has a long list of wind damage. On January 25-26, 1990, gusts of 50 to 60 mph downed trees in the city. On November 6, 2005, Lockport recorded a 60 mph gust. On December 1, 2006, wind tore the roof off the Niagara County Parks and Recreation office here. And on March 8, 2017, a windstorm left about 20,000 Niagara County residents without power and brought down numerous large trees; Lockport schools stayed closed two days later because of the danger from damaged trees. Trees cracked or loosened in a storm like that can stand for a while and then fail in a much smaller one.

Snow is lighter, but not nothing

Lockport sits north of the main lake-effect bands. In the October 2006 storm, the Weather Service recorded 6 to 8 inches here, far less than the 2 feet in Depew and Lancaster, but still enough to break limbs on trees in full leaf.

Working on the hill

On a sloped lot, we plan where every piece will land before the first cut. Trees are often taken down from the top in short lengths and lowered on ropes, with heavier sections tied off so nothing rolls. If there is no safe landing zone at all, a crane on the street can lift sections clear. The estimate tells you which approach fits and why.

Wires and wood

Before we work near the service line to your house, the utility needs to disconnect or cover it, which takes a call several days ahead. Brush is chipped and logs hauled unless you want firewood left. Stump grinding can go on the same quote. Get a free estimate