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Tree bylaw needed to prevent destruction

He uses the demise of the maple tree in front of the library on James Street as an example of community frustration over government values

Re: “Support Land Trust to preserve natural places”, (Citizen, Sept. 2)

He uses the demise of the maple tree in front of the library on James Street as an example of community frustration over government values, or the lack thereof.

Their new target is also on James Street.

It is a $1,145,000 roundabout smack in front of the high school, taking out the 58-year-old weeping willow planted by the grad class of 1958.

Only our local politicians would think it a find idea to put a pedestrian unfriendly roundabout in the middle of a block and in front of a school.

It makes as much sense as the CVRD commissioning the top expert in all of North America to examine and do an evaluation on the safety of the maple tree, then insisting they know better than he does, ignoring his suggestions of eliminating the tree.

We, the taxpayers, get to pay the bill for his services and the extra $40,000 the design that the CVRD used for the parking lot cost us over the design for leaving the tree intact.

Canadians have a reputation for being apathetic, but it is time to call for a referendum on the removal of the willow tree and others they are eyeing for destruction.

We urgently need a tree bylaw prohibiting the removal of historical trees and the preservation of the ancient ones. It will not happen if we don’t bother to lift a pen or punch a keyboard and tell them how we feel.

They have already spent $27,000 planning the roundabout. How about the remaining $1,118,000 going toward a bypass to alleviate the congestion on the TCH, or maybe some low income housing? Now there are projects the people can get behind.

 

Evelyn Dupuis

Duncan