If something looks different about downtown Warrenton these days, it’s probably that Main Street is less green and shady than it used to be.

City workers have removed the trees that lined both sides of the street for decades, leaving only square patches of exposed dirt waiting to be paved over. The trees were removed in the first week of October. Officials said they were growing too large and becoming a liability.

The Bradford pear trees had been scraping against parts of buildings, especially on the south side of the street, city Grounds and Maintenance Director Brad Busekrus previously said. The problem also extended below the surface, where the trees were not given enough space for their roots to grow.

“They dug a 3-by-3 hole, and that’s where that tree was planted,” Busekrus said. “We have road on one side and we have sidewalks and buildings on the other. … It was kind of poor planning on the part of whoever the company was that did it.”

That’s because root growth can cause damage to the surrounding sidewalk. The trees could eventually have grown large enough to be a major nuisance. Bradford pears also are notoriously fragile, and the city would have been liable if a falling branch damaged someone’s car.

Busekrus suggested the trees could eventually be replaced by planters for flowers.

City of Warrenton grounds and maintenance staff begin removal of the trees that line Main Street in downtown Warrenton, Oct. 4. The trees had grown too large and became a nuisance, officials said. Record photo/Kate Miller.