Hydro- Québec to remove remains of felled trees

Special care to be taken to prevent the spread of emerald ash borer

It’s sad to see a tree you have watched grow for 20 years come down.

Dozens of mature trees that were cut down by Hydro- Québec on a right- of- a- way running through t wo contiguous Dollard- desOrmeaux condominium developments will soon be cleared away.

The remains of 58 mature trees cut down by Hydro- Québec three weeks ago on a right of way in Sunnybrook Village and Glenview Green Condominiums, east of Sources Blvd., will be removed between the end of March and mid- April, according to Hydro- Québec officials.

Jean- Phil i ppe Rousseau, a spokesperson for Hydro- Québec, said the trees will be cleared away in two instalments — the first of which will consist of 25 trees identified as ash and requiring special care in order to avoid any possible spread of the emerald ash borer.

Those trees will be removed by the end of March, said Rousseau.

The remaining 33 trees — from a variety of species, but all measuring at least 2.5 metres and deemed a hazard to the power transmission lines in the area — will be cleared once the weather i mproves, likely early April.

The trees have already been cut into two- and four- foot lengths, Rousseau said, adding they were left on site for the past three weeks at the request of the condominium associations.

He said the association wanted condo owners to have the oppor- tunity to cart away some of the wood although not everyone has been pleased by the decision.

“It makes me want to cry,” said Lorraine Marchand, a longtime resident of Sunnybrook. She moved into her three- bedroom condo 28 years ago.

“I used to see three big, beautiful maple trees in front of my house,” said Marchand. “The trees were 50 to 60 years old. Every time I come in to my place or go out, I have to look at them.”

“It’s carnage,” she said of the felled trees she argues should have been cleared away immediately.

Joe Benchimol is president of the Sunnybrook Village condo association.

On Monday, Benchimol said, he sympathized with Marchand and other owners, who have been upset by the loss of trees.

He said representatives of the Sunnybrook condo association tried for months to persuade Hydro- Québec officials to trim the trees instead of cutting them down.

“It’s sad to see a tree you have watched grow for 20 years come down,” said Benchimol. “I’m not happy about it either.”

But, he added, “they’re a big machine. They ( Hydro- Québec) roll right over you.”

Perhaps Sunnyvale and Glenview Green condo owners should have been more proactive, he said. The trees may not have been targeted, had they been trimmed regularly by the association.

He said the focus is now on planting new trees and that the Sunnybrook condo association plans to make a request to Dollard city officials for assistance in that matter.