{"id":847561,"date":"2026-08-06T00:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T00:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/847561\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T00:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T00:10:13","slug":"selkirk-avenue-resident-misses-sound-of-silence-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/847561\/","title":{"rendered":"Selkirk Avenue resident misses sound of silence \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Selkirk Avenue resident Gail Allard sits on her front steps, looking at a row of tree stumps.<\/p>\n

Until last fall, Allard would have opened her front door to a lush canopy of mature trees. Now, she has an unobstructed view of a freight terminal \u2014 the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. intermodal yard.<\/p>\n

Although the residential street is quiet on this August afternoon, the steady beeping of machinery moving shipping containers carries throughout the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"ZOE
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ZOE PIERCE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n

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Where once there were mature trees along Selkirk Avenue, only stumps remain after Manitoba Hydro cut them down last fall as a safety precaution.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first summer since Manitoba Hydro cut down 262 mature trees \u2014 most of them Siberian elms \u2014 along Selkirk Avenue between Keewatin and Railway streets.<\/p>\n

The trees provided more than just a pleasant view for Allard. They acted as a barrier between her home and the industrial activity across the street, helping to reduce noise and keep dust from drifting toward the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe noise is ridiculous,\u201d Allard said. \u201cThe containers beep, beep, beep, beep. Because every time they back up, they have to have a beeper on.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the difference is most noticeable when she\u2019s outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still heard it,\u201d she said of the rail yard before the trees were removed, \u201cbut it was a buffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allard said she used to spend much more time outdoors, particularly in her backyard, but the noise has made her less inclined to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a reminder of what I used to have,\u201d she said of the remaining stumps. \u201cPlant more trees, shrubs \u2014 it\u2019s heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trees were removed in November after Manitoba Hydro determined they were interfering with nearby power lines.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES
\nThe trees, mostly Siberian elms, were removed last fall on Selkirk Avenue, between Keewatin and Railway streets.<\/p>\n

Hydro told the Free Press at the time that the trees were encroaching on 22 spans of 24,000-volt power lines that provide electricity to thousands of homes and businesses.<\/p>\n

The utility said removing the trees would eliminate safety hazards for workers who conduct maintenance or repairs, as trees that become energized can start fires or bring down wires.<\/p>\n

Hydro ruled out trimming as a long-term solution, saying Siberian elms grow quickly and would continue to interfere with the power lines.<\/p>\n

Before the trees were cut down, the City of Winnipeg said it had tried to work with Hydro on alternatives, including pruning or developing a replanting plan. The city said those efforts were unsuccessful and it plans to continue discussions with Hydro regarding compensation to help fund replacement trees.<\/p>\n

Months later, City of Winnipeg spokeswoman Julie Dooley said they have not been compensated by Manitoba Hydro.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlans for stump removal and replanting are not yet determined,\u201d she said in an email.<\/p>\n

Christian Cassidy, executive director of Trees Winnipeg, said because the trees were on city-owned land, the responsibility for dealing with the stumps likely falls to the city\u2019s urban forestry branch, and removing hundreds of them will not be a small undertaking.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt would be a hugely expensive undertaking to stump grind 262 stumps,\u201d Cassidy said, adding that even at a bulk contractor rate of about $100 per stump, the cost could exceed $25,000. He said city crews are already dealing with the aftermath of two major storms this year, which could affect the timeline for other forestry work.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"ZOE
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ZOE PIERCE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n

Allard says the trees acted as a sound barrier between her home and the industrial activity across the street.<\/p>\n

In other words, the stumps could be there for a long time unless the city decides to replant the area with trees or shrubs.<\/p>\n

Allard said she hopes some type of greenery will eventually replace what was removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll take less time to trim than it did to pull all of this out and cut this down and everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Selkirk Avenue resident Gail Allard sits on her front steps, looking at a row of tree stumps. Until…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":847562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-847561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/847562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}