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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS
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\nThe trees, mostly Siberian elms, are being removed next week on Selkirk Avenue, between Keewatin and Railway streets.<\/p>\n
Hydro said the trees are encroaching on 22 spans of 24,000-volt power lines that provide electricity to thousands of homes and businesses.<\/p>\n
There is a danger when trees become \u201cenergized,\u201d starting fires or bringing down wires, the public utility said.<\/p>\n
Removing this many trees at once is unusual, Chura said. The trees were planted after hydro poles were installed starting in 1957, he added.<\/p>\n
Most of the trees are on City of Winnipeg land, where they provide a barrier between houses and a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. intermodal yard on a one-kilometre stretch of Selkirk. Some are just inside CPKC\u2019s fenced property.<\/p>\n
The city became aware of the issue earlier this year, spokesman Adam Campbell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite our attempts to work with Hydro on a plan to preserve the trees through pruning or replanting, they have now informed us they intend to remove them without compensation to the city for replanting,\u201d he wrote in an email to the Free Press.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe intend to continue discussions with Hydro regarding compensation to the city for us to replant the trees.\u201d<\/p>\n
CPKC declined to comment. Hydro doesn\u2019t need a land owner\u2019s permission to cut down trees it deems a risk to power lines and\/or safety.<\/p>\n
The Manitoba Hydro Act gives the Crown corporation the authority to carry out the work on public or private land. The act does not require Hydro to compensate land owners or plant new trees.<\/p>\n
The trees are in Coun. Vivian Santos\u2019 ward of Point Douglas. She said she hopes the city and Hydro come to an \u201camicable\u201d agreement regarding compensation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny tree loss to our canopy is a detriment to our community, especially in this particular area that is surrounded by rail lines and industrial land,\u201d said Santos, who is council\u2019s community services chair.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate there could not be some kind of amenable approach to this instead of going ahead and cutting them all down, and having no replacement of trees.\u201d<\/p>\n Hydro ruled out trimming as an option because Siberian elms, which grow fast and tall, would be a continual problem, Chura said.<\/p>\n \u201cCutting far enough to avoid that would just kill the tree,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Selkirk Avenue resident Gail Allard was upset when she found a notice from Manitoba Hydro in her mailbox a few days ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want the trees to be gone. It\u2019s heartbreaking,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just makes our view ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n Allard said the trees, when in bloom, are a nicer view than stacked shipping containers, and act as a sound barrier to noise from the intermodal yard. Notices were delivered to 64 homes, Chura said.<\/p>\n Organizations that plant trees and advocate for policies to protect Winnipeg\u2019s canopy were disappointed.<\/p>\n Erna Buffie of Trees Please Winnipeg, a coalition of community groups, and Christian Cassidy, executive director of Trees Winnipeg, said Hydro should be required to replace trees or provide compensation.<\/p>\n \u201cSiberian elms are high-benefit trees. That is a mini-forest that they\u2019re taking down,\u201d Buffie said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really frustrating when you\u2019re trying to plant hundreds of trees and you think you\u2019re doing a good job, and then you turn around and someone has cut down hundreds of trees,\u201d Cassidy said.<\/p>\n Buffie has advocated for public and private tree bylaws. City hall set a goal of expanding the canopy cover to 24 per cent from 17 per cent by 2065, after a recent decline.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201cWe can\u2019t save every tree, but we can save a lot more mature trees than we\u2019re doing now,\u201d Buffie said.<\/p>\n It was unclear what kind of policies existed when the trees along Selkirk were planted decades ago, but the city currently follows the \u201cright tree, right place\u201d concept to avoid conflicts with overhead obstacles such as wires.<\/p>\n Hydro hired a contractor to carry out next week\u2019s work. The resulting wood must be properly disposed of to prevent the spread of Dutch elm disease, Chura noted.<\/p>\n The Crown corporation is devoting more money and staff to trim or remove trees and bushes. The budget has doubled to $27 million this year.<\/p>\n chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t \u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Chris Kitching Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS
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\nMost of the trees are on City of Winnipeg land, where they provide a barrier between houses and a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. intermodal yard on a one-kilometre stretch of Selkirk.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS
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\nIt was unclear what kind of policies existed when the trees along Selkirk were planted decades ago, but the city currently follows the \u201cright tree, right place\u201d concept to avoid conflicts with overhead obstacles such as wires.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
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