Ponce library to remain open after complaints about tree removal

An Atlanta library that was supposed to close Monday for renovations remains open after residents complained about the planned removal of trees as part of the project.

The Ponce de Leon library at 980 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE will remain open for another month or more while library officials reconsider parts of the project that would require trees to be removed, said Claudia Strange, a spokesperson for the Fulton County library system. She said the system will try to save or replace as many trees as possible.

Strange said the tree removal is necessary to add parking spaces, a drive-through book drop and relieve some traffic congestion on Frederica Street.

The library is now expected to close at the end of August, after the county has a permit to begin work.

“We’ve put it on hold to address the tree situation,” Strange said.

Construction on the library is expected to take six months. Once it is closed, the library will get upgraded technology, new shelving, better layouts and other improvements, library director Gabriel Morley said.

The county is in the midst of a plan to renovate most of its library branches. In addition to the planned closing of the Ponce de Leon branch, the Sandy Springs library is scheduled to reopen Tuesday. That will be the sixth renovated library to reopen.