Whitehorse Daily Star

Resident asks for reversal of tree-cutting plan

A resident of New Constabulary is asking the Yukon government to reverse a decision that will see trees removed from cul-de-sacs around the neighbourhood.

By Stephanie Waddell on September 15, 2014

A resident of New Constabulary is asking the Yukon government to reverse a decision that will see trees removed from cul-de-sacs around the neighbourhood.

In a letter Friday to Highways and Public Works Minister Wade Ischenko, Michael Vernon asked the trees be kept as they are in the centre of each cul-de-sac or that, if it is indeed necessary, removal be minimal.

“In the absence of clear, specific reasoning for the decision to remove the cluster of trees in centre of each of the six cul-de-sacs in New Constabulary, Jason (Cooke) and I respectfully ask that you reverse this decision, or seek to minimize the tree removal necessary for safe snowplow operation,” Vernon wrote in his letter.

The tree removal is part of annual maintenance done around the territory to prepare for snow-clearing in the winter, government officials have explained in previous interviews.

It’s also been noted more space is needed for snow-clearing with few areas for the rising amount of snow to go.

While there’s no consultation done on projects that fall under annual maintenance, department representatives attended a meeting of the Marsh Lake local advisory council last week to address residents about the work following numerous concerns from residents who didn’t want to see the trees disappear.

A number have argued the trees provide privacy, serve as a wind-break and a sound barrier along with adding to the beauty of the country residential setting.

Vernon noted in an interview Friday that for he and his partner, Cooke, the trees were a factor in deciding to purchase their home in the area in 2006.

Cooke suffers from a number of mental health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and social phobia.

Vernon said when they were looking to buy a home eight years ago, they opted for a country residential setting to get the solitude Cooke needed to heal.

They considered buying another newer yet less expensive home in Judas Creek, but ultimately decided on their Marsh Lake property because it has more privacy, in part due to the trees on the cul-de-sac.

Cooke has made steady progress with therapy and partly due to the seclusion and security their home provides, Vernon said, stating his fear the trees’ removal could impede Cooke’s progress.

Vernon said he fully recognizes that the trees don’t belong to him and Cooke, and that there are sometimes very good reasons for bringing them down.

However, he argued, the government has not made any reasonable arguments for cutting down all the trees that stand in the middle of each cul-de-sac in New Constabulary; trees that have been there for many years.

Government officials’ arguments that tree removal will substantially reduce the amount of time needed for snow removal and allow plows to get around the cul-de-sac more easily have not been backed up by any documentation showing how much time is expected to be saved or how much room is required for the plows to get around the neighbourhood road.

“They didn’t want to quantify (their arguments),” Vernon said.

“I want more answers; I want more specifics.”

The department also hasn’t committed to any increase in snow-plowing in the area.

Vernon said he hasn’t had any problem with snow-clearing, recognizing he lives on a quiet road that is not high on the priority list for clearing.

“We’ve always been happy with the service,” he said.

The decision to take down the trees, Vernon believes, “seems incredibly arbitrary.”

While the tree removal itself falls under the territory’s maintenance budget, he noted, there are numerous other expenses that could come up later, with the removal of tree stumps, road work that will have to be done after the tree stumps are removed, and so on.

And for Vernon and Cooke, it could mean the additional expense of having a fence built if they want a similar level of privacy for their home once the trees disappear.

Neither department officials nor the minister’s office returned phone calls from the Star this morning to discuss the concerns.

Comments (6)

Up 4 Down 0

Yukoner 2 on Sep 18, 2014 at 4:03 pm

What part of they want to pile the snow where the trees are so they don't have to haul snow away is eluding every one.

Up 11 Down 5

Lisa on Sep 16, 2014 at 3:49 pm

Clearly if the decision to remove the trees has been made, what's the problem with answering questions? Shouldn't we expect that the government make wise decisions with the money we pay in taxes? Did they complete the proper assessments? They should have. The answers are probably just an email away - or at least I think they should be. If the work hasn't been done the government should do it.

Up 11 Down 8

Michael Vernon on Sep 16, 2014 at 9:52 am

@salar - In eight years living on the cul-de-sac the snowplowing service from HPW has been consistently good. The plows speed around fast and efficiently, and there has been no evidence of the road width or trees being an issue. Often the plow drivers do another loop to clear the drive ways, which is appreciated but not necessary. In the past eight years NO trees have been removed by HPW, either deliberately or by accident (from a snow plow clipping them), and now they have flagged all the trees in the center of the cul-de-sac and claim they must be removed.

At the public meeting last week Superintendent Mickey Parkin specifically stated that there are no new machines, there is no increased width. He said that cutting the trees is a convenience. It will shave a little bit of time spent on each street, but when I asked how much time are we talking about, what is the impact of this across the whole western region, he could not, or did not want to say.

The likelihood is all the trees in our 6 New Constabulary cul-de-sacs will be removed. Because of the impact this will have on my partners' mental health we are trying to better understand the reasoning behind this decision, and are instead finding that it is just arbitrary and convenient.

Asking a government department for the reasoning behind a decision they have made should not be a waste of taxpayers money. The department should have executed at least a modicum of due diligence in reaching that decision and the answers should be readily available. That they are not, only serves to expose how arbitrary this decision is.

We have priced the cost of a privacy fence around our property at about $10,000. Being on a single income and my partner on a disability pension means we unfortunately do do not have this money lying around to access.

It is eleven years since my partner was hospitalized following a complete breakdown. In the past eight years, much of his healing has come about through therapy that we have paid for ourselves, and the seclusion and privacy our property, until now, has afforded him. Already, the threat of the tree removal has had a very real and negative impact on his mental state.

At the meeting, when residents asked about cutting back just some of the trees to widen the road, Parkin simply stated that he would like to see them all gone. He expressed no desire to compromise on a decision he had already made.

The trees have been in the center of the cul-de-sac for at least 30 years. The road has been cleared every year. It is hard to understand how they have suddenly become a problem.

Up 10 Down 11

north_of_60 on Sep 15, 2014 at 5:16 pm

Unless the government can prove it needs to make a change, then nothing should be done.

That rule should be applied to everything the government does, especially the old-boys-club called Highways.

Up 22 Down 15

Mike Smith on Sep 15, 2014 at 3:25 pm

I hope the government listens and responds favourably to these concerns.

Highways was deceptive when it commissioned the killing of beavers and the city of Whitehorse seems to have an agenda that promotes off road vehicles in greenspaces and sensitive areas.

Up 22 Down 14

salar on Sep 15, 2014 at 3:18 pm

Let him plow the area behind the trees....the plow operators have a big machine and operating in such narrow areas is slow and tedious. Let the plows do up to the cul de sacs and leave the rest for those whose driveway abuts....or they can build a fence like so many others have in the world....pretty cheap solution really....

But this 'I want more anwsers bs is just an offensive waste of time for government and will only encourage more wailer's to waste taxpayer's money and good ink.

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