Lawrence Park residents fight potential removal of 349 trees
Lawrence Park might be known as the “garden suburb,” but that’s not stopping the city from considering ripping down 349 of the neighbourhood’s trees — some more than 50 years old.
The plan that tree removal authorities are mulling over isn’t without cause. It’s part of a stormwater management project that would involve replacing roads and sewers to mitigate the flooding that plagues Lawrence and Bayview Aves. — notably during the 2013 flood and ice storm.
It’s not quite a done deal yet. City staff say assessments continue and when a plan is chosen, they’ll do their best to keep from removing trees that aren’t obstructing the project.
But Lawrence Park residents aren’t waiting for the axe to fall. Even the thought of having their precious trees hacked at has them up in arms, so they are plastering lawns with “Save Our Trees” signs and tying yellow ribbons around the 349 trees the city figures might have to come down to make way for sidewalks and better sewer infrastructure.
Anne Riley’s children played basketball for many summers on their Lewes Cres. driveway, where one of those trees provided much-needed shade. The kids have moved out, but the magnificent tree still stands. Riley hopes to keep it to preserve the “rural, country feel” that attracted the family to the corner lot. “If you lose the greenery, then it looks like a city road,” she says. “You lose the character of the neighbourhood.”
Rick Hutcheon and Kim Stewart, the couple who spearheaded the intense sign and tape bombing campaign, agree that removing trees threatens the area’s rustic charm.
They have lived here for more than 20 years, and the foliage was a big part of why they chose the neighbourhood, Hutcheon said.
“I am certainly not against sidewalks if they are necessary, and I am certainly not against sewers,” Hutcheon said. “All we want is for the canopy to be maintained.”
Councillor Jaye Robinson (open Jaye Robinson's policard), whom Hutcheon and Stewart targeted in their signs by encouraging people to call her with their complaints, agreed.
A longtime “tree hugger,” Robinson said she was shocked to see the signs directed at her as she drove along Lawrence Ave. East one weekend. “Usually, I am the one who is fighting for the trees,” she said. “I drive developers crazy because I want them to move driveways to save trees.”
She is pushing the city to follow a similar model to the nearby Hogg’s Hollow neighbourhood, where crews hand-dug around trees and streets were narrowed to reduce the number cut down.
She would also like to see the city research innovative and creative reconstruction techniques to protect their root structures. But she says, “staff won’t commit to anything.”
“They won’t say there won’t be one tree that won’t come down because it is the actual construction of the storm and sewer system that will have a big impact on the number of trees affected,” Hutcheon said, noting the city has yet to choose a plan. “With some work, I think we can find a solution.”
Michael D’Andrea, the city’s executive director of engineering and construction services, is also hopeful the city will find a way to spare more trees by the time a final report is presented in fall.
“We put forward all the options and came up with 349 trees, but we are looking to reduce that number,” he said. “At this time, we know there is going to be an impact on trees, but we just won’t know how many until a couple of years from now.”
At the Brasseur home, at least, if the chainsaws come out, there will be a vigorous defence. Jeremy Brasseur grew up on Mildenhall Rd., watching small trees grow into goliaths. When he and his wife Andreana moved their family to nearby St. Leonards Ave., they were thrilled to take possession of an enormous silver maple 94 centimetres in diameter.
“I and my family,” Jeremy vowed, “will chain ourselves to this beautiful tree when the city comes to cut it down.”
