How much does an old tree cost?

One of the old trees on our street had a large branch starting to lean on one of the street’s light poles. I’ve noticed it before on dog walks. Seemed like an issue that needed to be dealt with. The branch was cut down yesterday, presumably at the orders of the city. The tree itself has 5 other branches, all extremely tall. At least the entire tree wasn’t removed. I do wonder though if anyone thought to move the light instead. It’s probably cheaper to cut down a single branch on paper. But how many years does it take to make a light pole? Compare that to the 30+ years the tree has been growing. You may say it’s not fair to compare such things. But isn’t that the problem with capitalism?