A number of residents of 97th Street were speaking up for the trees Monday night at council.
The concern was raised about the impact Underground Pipes and Roads (UPAR) work might have on the trees lining the street. According to a letter from residents to the City, City employees had gone to the boulevards in March of this year marking trees for removal for UPAR work later that year. The area impacted would be the 1300 and 1400 blocks.
The concern raised by residents was that of the 28 trees lining the boulevard, a total of 16 had been marked for removal leaving 12 standing. Five of them were on the 1400 block and 11 were on the 1300 block.
Alarm was raised that this went beyond what was necessary for the street. The main worry is that the boulevard would lose its unique look if too many trees were removed.
At council Monday, the gallery was filled with residents in support of keeping the trees. Bill Chappell and Brenda Korchinski made the presentation to the city. They were also joined by certified arborists Keith Anderson and John Vogt who provided more technical information.
The presenters urged the city to consider the aesthetic value of the trees, and urged construction methods for the upcoming UPAR work to keep as many trees standing as possible. They also urged replanting of any trees that are removed.
It appears, however, the City is aware of the concerns on 97th Street and is looking for ways to keep as many trees as possible.
City Manager Jim Puffalt indicated that after receiving the correspondence from the residents, staff had gone back and were able to reduce the number of trees that needed to be removed down to about seven.
He pledged the city would do its best to keep the number down as much as they possibly can.
The issue highlights a major challenge for the city when doing UPAR work, particularly in areas where there is a heavy presence of older trees. The problem is many older trees are planted right on top of sewer and water pipelines going to houses, as City Engineer Bob Anthony explained.
Anthony welcomed the input and acknowledged this is an issue they will be facing in other neighbourhoods with trees.
“The better we can sort this out, the better we can do going forward,” said Anthony.
As well, the City has committed to holding a follow up neighbourhood meeting with residents later on to update them on what is going on.
