Palm trees in storage for winter
Q: What’s become of the palm trees that were on the film set of Anne with an E in Port Dalhousie in St. Catharines? A story said they were given to the city.
A: The palm trees which helped turn Lakeside Park into a tropical paradise are keeping warm for the winter at a Welland nursery.
They’ll be back in St. Catharines come spring.
City horticultural foreman Mauro Becchetti said the trees from the Anne set are overwintering at Rice Road Greenhouses.
There are about 10, with the largest being a multi- stem tree about 20 feet tall and the others 7- 8 feet tall.
Next year when it’s warm enough, the city will put the palm trees on display. While locations still have to be determined, Becchetti said the largest will likely go back to Lakeside Park. The smaller ones may be used in floral displays in Port Dalhousie or in and around the beach area.
It’s not the first time St. Catharines has had palm trees in its collection. The owners of Rice Road donated two large palms to the city in 2016 that were planted in the sand at Sunset Beach to much delight. “They looked great and people commented a lot on them,” Becchetti said. “It was fun to see them.”
Those palms weren’t overwintered and didn’t survive. This time around, the city plans to try and save its new palms by putting them in storage again next winter 2018- 2019.
In addition to the palm trees
from the TV show, the city owns four or five smaller palm trees that it used in planters and floral displays through Port Dalhousie and downtown this year. Those have been potted and moved to the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre for the winter. Becchetti said the pool area has large windows making it easy for the city to manage them. They’ll be back out for floral displays next spring.
TV crews were in Lakeside Park from Oct. 16 to Nov. 1 setting up, filming and dismantling sets for the second season of the Canadian television series. Based on the classic Anne of Green Gables books by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the show is on CBC television as Anne and available on U. S. Netflix as Anne with an E.
Q: Now that the Burgoyne Bridge is done, on the west side, why is there no left turn lane for Henrietta Street rather than the big void?
A: The region didn’t have enough room to install a full left- turn lane from St. Paul Street West onto Henrietta Street.
However, it did put in a flush painted median to allow vehicles to make a turn if required.
According to the region and its designer, the issue is the width and length available for a proper leftturn lane. To qualify for a lane, there has to be a certain amount of space for traffic to be able to safely shift over and slow down to a stop.
It also needs to be long enough to accommodate a line up of turning cars. The space on the bridge wasn’t big enough for those requirements.
Q: Why is there a moose crossing sign on Lundy’s Lane at Blackhorse Corners in Thorold?
A: It seems it was someone’s joke that has just been ruined.
A Ministry of Transportation spokeswoman said the sign appears to be a real moose sign but the ministry did not approve or install it at that location.
Since the sign was within the ministry’s right of way and not on private property, it has since been removed by an MTO contractor. The ministry is currently trying to determine if it, in fact, owns the sign.