Can A Sidewalk Tree Grow On Union Street?

According to a DPW worker I spoke to recently, the sidewalk tree that used to be located closest to the intersection of 5th and Union was run over by a vehicle that drove up over the curb and crushed it.  It was probably dead or barely surviving anyway.  What is DPW going to do about the treeless planter full of stormwater?

The ten unique sidewalk trees on upper Union, growing in "stormwater planters," were a gift from the State of NY Environmental Facilities Corporation in 2018, agreed to by Robert Perry at the DPW.  In my estimation (and I am no arborist), the whole effort is a disaster, and it was a horrible idea from the start.  How is any tree supposed to survive on a steady diet of salt, oil, debris and whatever else washes into their "planters" when it rains or snow melts?  Is stormwater really part of "green infrastructure?"  After 5 years, the remaining 9 trees look sickly at best, having grown very little.  All of them are covered in lichens.  

Our sidewalks were changed to accommodate these "stormwater planters."  If DPW decides that the trees have got to go (or not be replaced), who will return those portions of sidewalks to their original configuration?  Who will pay for that if it is ever done?

The curb was redone so that
stormwater can feed the trees,
draining directly from the street 
 to the base of the tree.