Duane Hicks
While not everyone might like the fact the town has removed trees from the 200 block of Scott Street and the north-side boulevard on the 200 block of Second Street, the removals were absolutely necessary for a number of reasons.
During Monday night’s council meeting, Fort Frances CAO Doug Brown said that, for starters, the trees on boulevards, such as along Second Street East, can create a tripping hazard in violation of the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways.
“I don’t know if anyone ever walked between Portage and Mowat but the trees had lifted the sidewalk, creating all of these hazards,” he noted.
Another problem with the trees on the boulevard is that the town hardly has any room to pile snow in the wintertime, especially with parking on both sides of a road.
“When we blow the snow off probably a three-lane road, that snow’s got to go somewhere,” Brown reasoned.
By that same token, the trees on Scott Street have been an obstacle when the town has to clear snowbanks downtown.
Another problem is how tree roots can affect sewer and water infrastructure underground, resulting in costly maintenance for everyone.
The town has quite a few areas with old clay sewers that, by their design, have non-gasketed joints, which just “invite roots to come in,” noted Operations and Facilities manager Travis Rob.
“We have a ton of homes throughout the town that have frequent root problems,” he noted.
“We have to unplug sewers a couple times a year all because of tree roots.
“So that tree they [the homeowners] planted when they moved in is now causing problems,” Rob added.
“If it’s on the boulevard, it’s adding to our problems.”
Brown and Rob noted the town wants to plant more trees in its green spaces going forward, and there will be some trees in the new Rainy Lake Square–just not out on the sidewalk.
Rob noted when the Rainy Lake Square was tendered, new trees for Scott Street were included.
Unlike the last trees, these would have proper root protection.
But the town found out it would cost $6,000 per tree to replace the ones along the 200 block of Scott Street–about five times the cost of those that will be within the square.
Additionally, the sidewalks on Scott Street–and the town’s boulevards, in general–are narrow enough.
“Once you get a sidewalk, curb, gutter, any underground infrastructure, and try to put a tree in there, we just don’t have wide enough boulevards for all of that infrastructure and to be able to maintain the sidewalk widths under the Accessibility [Act],” said Rob.
“There just isn’t space enough for all of that,” he stressed. “Something has to move and the easiest thing is the trees.”
Rob noted the main reason for the sidewalks being replaced on Scott Street is because of the trees.
“The bricks themselves weren’t in terrible condition but because of the trees, they had heaved and caused all sorts of other issues to the sidewalks,” he remarked.
In addition to removing existing trees from boulevards, Brown said the town also has been making a conscious effort to restrict the planting of new trees on boulevards.
Since he first came here as Operations and Facilities manager in 2003, the town has received several requests from residents to plant trees on the boulevards and every time, those requests have been denied.
“Once you put a tree in there, it’s nice when it’s small,” he noted. “But as it gets bigger, it creates a lot more costs for society and that’s the position we’ve been in.”
He said the town has no problem with residents planting trees as long they’re set back the correct distance and on private property.
Later at Monday night’s meeting, Diana McGhee, a partnership specialist with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry–Fort Frances District, noted some of the trees the town has been removing are silver maples.
Fast-growing trees such as the silver maple are notorious for having their roots grow down into sewer and water pipes, where they can find plenty of water and nutrients.
“In lots of urban areas where infrastructure gets a bit aged and starts to leak, the tree is attracted to there by water and nutrients,” she noted.
Silver maple also have what’s called superficial roots–those that like to come up to the surface, causing sidewalks to buckle.
McGhee said that if the town plans to plant any new trees, she is available to offer her expertise on different species.
McGhee, who began her position here in March, is interested in facilitating and leading partnership initiatives and sharing her knowledge.
This includes community tree care workshops that cover topics ranging from Dutch Elm disease to proper pruning techniques.
