I NEED MORE ROOM TO GROW

I was meeting a potential client in Long Beach and saw this in front of her house. Quit literally this plant called the Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) was planted by the city of Long Beach in an area that was too small for the roots of the plant. So what happens? Well as you can see in the picture (left) the roots are destroying the concrete and causing a big hazard for pedestrians.

I really don't get it? I guess some cities would much rather waste money then save it. And then they complain that we are in shortage of funds. Hmmm well if you continually waste your money trying to fix this sidewalk when it would just be cheaper to replace this tree with a different variety then there would be nothing to complain about. As you can see in the picture below, (right) this tree which is a carrot wood is far better to plant as a street tree.

I wonder how many other cities are quilty of this?