John Dance
Viviane Villeneuve’s plea for a stay of execution will not be granted. The trees she writes eloquently of in her article below are doomed and, overall, the tree canopy in Old Ottawa East will be diminished as a result of the Greenfield, Main, Hawthorne (GMH) reconstruction project.
The massive project’s detrimental impact on trees contrasts to what happened with the reconstruction of Main Street south of Hawthorne Avenue. As a result of GMH, approximately 40 trees will be removed and approximately 45 new trees planted. When the southern part of Main Street was reconstructed about seven years ago, 82 trees were removed but more than 200 street trees were replanted along Main Street as well as many more on the Saint Paul University Main Street frontage.
Long-time Old Ottawa East resident Viviane Villeneuve hugs the massive silver maple on Main Street that will be removed as part of the GMH project. Photo John Dance
The trees are being removed in the current project because of “road geometry changes” including new cycling lanes and wider sidewalks. “All efforts were taken to preserve as many existing trees as possible,” Bruce Kenny, the City of Ottawa’s Manager of Design and Construction, says.
The City’s response does not sit well with Villeneuve and a number of others who live in the northern part of Old Ottawa East. Karen Smith, a resident of the Glassworks condominium at the corner of Greenfield Avenue and Main, laments the pending loss of the substantial trees in front of her condominium.
“The trees in front of the Glassworks have provided much-needed noise reduction, shade and tremendous value to the overall landscape,” Smith says. “The trees have also helped to save energy through cooling in the hotter months and providing a wind break during winter. Not only am I concerned about the removal of most of the trees on Main Street but more broadly about the cumulative impact of losing mature trees throughout our city.”
In response to Smith’s concern, Patrick Salmon, the City’s project leader, responded, “Given the narrow right-of-way within this section of Main Street, there are limited areas where trees can be planted. The proposed design seeks to tie in existing cycling infrastructure south of Harvey Street to the pathway along Colonel By Drive while providing a parallel pedestrian facility.” Smith responded with the suggestion that the northbound Main right-turn lane could be removed, or the cycling lane and the sidewalk could be narrowed to provide space for the trees, but the City was unwilling to do this.
The large maples on the western side of Main between Harvey and Greenfield
are being removed “due to condition or complications because of their proximity to overhead lines and buildings,” says Kenny.
Two of these trees have already been removed and the larger one will be removed next winter.
“Due to the westerly lean of the [remaining] tree, much of the weight is overhanging the houses located at 38 and 40 Main, making them a target if the tree were to fail,” the City’s forestry department commented. “[The] excavation for a hydro duct is required within this nine-metre protection zone therefore the tree’s root system will be compromised; the integrity of the root system will be further compromised with the installation of the water services as a 4-foot X 4-foot excavation pit is required for the safety of the workers.”
Residents of Kings Landing are lamenting the loss of four large Manitoba maples on Greenfield. They, too, were cut down to provide space for new cycling lanes. “The stumps range from 18-inch to 23-inch diameter and the trees were over 30 feet tall producing shade, reducing CO2 from the heavy traffic on Greenfield and providing habitat for squirrels and birds,” says Kings Landing resident Jim Strang. “Close inspection of the stumps does not indicate any evidence of rot or disease. They were sacrificed for the construction of bicycle paths on both sides of Greenfield as part of the Greenfield Renewal project. According to residents, there were no more than a dozen or so cyclists using this route on a daily basis.”
No trees are going to be planted along the non-park sections of Hawthorne Avenue which is a disappointment for those who had hoped that the buried electrical wires would provide space for trees. “With the burial of hydro wires, the underground duct structure and adjacent roadway do not allow sufficient space to plant trees on the south side of the roadway between the property line and the curb while still accommodating the sidewalk,” Kenny says.
Ballantyne Park on Hawthorne will be used as a staging area for the future Highway 417 bridge construction so no new tree planting can be done there “until the needs of that project are fully understood,” Kenny commented.
A total of 15 different species will be planted, including a variety of maples, elms, serviceberry, hazelnut and crabapple. The trees will be similar in size to those planted in the previous phase of Main Street reconstruction. Also, more than 100 shrubs will be added.
“As part of this project’s commitment to tree planting, additional funds have been provided for tree planting elsewhere in the City to compensate for the loss of mature trees,” says Kenny. “These funds contribute towards the City’s trees in trust program and park and community planting programs.”
But the replacements for the “majestic natural monuments” that Villeneuve eulogizes won’t be providing comparable shade for another century or two.
