Stump list bumped up
The machine is grinding, wood chips are flying and the city is getting ready to cross another tree stump removal off its to-do list. It’s a seemingly unending one. The remains of the red maple on Wakil Drive in Glenridge, chopped up by the city Tuesday, is among 912 stumps on the current list.
Every time a tree stump is removed on a St. Catharines boulevard, another one appears on the city’s radar.
“We produce them almost as fast as we can do them,” said forestry supervisor Dan Cooper Tuesday.
In an effort to reduce the backlog — some residents have been waiting for years to have stumps removed — the city is tackling the list in a new way this year.
A new data collection system is being used to better rationalize resources. Work orders are being gathered together into geographic sectors, so a crew can deal with stump removals in one area at a time and not have to back track across the city.
It means stumps aren’t being handled on a first-come, firstserved basis, but may be dealt with quicker in the long run. Crews can travel faster from place to place and utility locates can be done in a concentrated area.
“Trying to streamline the process will hopefully get us there faster,” Cooper said about the wait list.
St. Catharines has been divided into 50 work sectors. They’ll be posted on the city’s website so residents can see when crews will be in their neighbourhood.
Removing stumps is a constant game of catch up for the city’s forestry department.
Take down a dead or dying tree and a stump is left behind. Take out the stump and there’s another tree being cut down somewhere. Case in point: The city had 990 stump removals on its list on May 12. Since then, contractors have removed 170-180 stumps, but the city still had 912 stumps on its list at the end of last week.
The catch up has been made increasingly difficult in recent years by the plethora of ash trees that had to be felled due to the emerald ash borer killing the species and causing unsafe conditions. Back in 2013, the stump list was in the manageable 300s.
Cooper said it will still take a couple of years to get through the current stump list.
How long it takes to remove a single stump depends on the size, location and obstacles, such as parked cars in the way of machinery, flower beds that have been planted around it or loose stones underneath. Cooper said the city’s contractor strives to remove seven stumps a day.
But the time involved doesn’t just include what happens curbside. Whether it’s a small stump or a large one, every removal must have a utility locate on the property, which is only good for 30 days.
A traffic plan must also be put in place so the city can put up barriers and signage on the road. That’s going to be more complicated for the removal of a stump on a major street than on a neighbourhood road like Wakil Drive Tuesday.
A stump remover machine with a rotating wheel at the front chewed up the stump, sending wood chips flying for several feet. Cooper said the majority of the tree’s roots are located in the top six to 12 inches of soil. The city tries to get as much of the tree out as it can.
The operator started on the outside of the stump and worked his way in, creating about a two-foot deep hole and a big pile of mulch. It took about 12 minutes.
The remains were raked back into the hole. The city will come back within 30 days to remove the chips, add topsoil and re-seed the patch in what’s called a reinstatement.
Eventually, a new tree will be planted on the site, preferably in the fall.
Cooper said the department has a list of 4,000 stumps, reinstatements and tree plantings to do.
Phil Cristi, acting director of parks, recreation and culture services, said the city knows some people have had to wait a considerable time to have stumps removed.
Those stumps won’t disappear overnight.
“People who have been on the list will still have to wait a little bit, but we’re just hoping to improve on the wait times,” he said.
The city also hopes the new system will also help reduce wait times for the replacement trees.
“We’re working towards better customer service, an improved overall experience for the homeowner and, longer term, a positive impact on our tree canopy,” Cristi said. “We’re moving the dead ones and replacing them with new trees.”
The city gave away 500 trees to residents in June to help increase the numbers in the city and is planning a second giveaway in the fall.