Fifty-six ailing trees along Barrie Road in Gordon Head are set to be removed and replaced by 52 new ones this fall.
Saanich is pulling the remainder of a stretch of Norway spruce trees which have either failed completely or partially over recent years, causing damage to private and public property.
The Norway spruce and maple trees selected for removal are suffering from decay, fungal pathogens and structural defects resulting from topping cuts to provide clearance for B.C. Hydro power lines, said Saanich’s Doug Henderson, director of parks and recreation.
“Residents in the area have identified issues with these trees for quite a while,” Henderson said. “Before we undertook the project, we wanted to be sure replacement was the best course of action and that a replanting plan was developed that would provide long-term value to the neighbourhood.”
Last fall the District of Saanich consulted with an independent arborist who assessed the condition and health of the trees along Barrie Road.
The assessment was shared with the Gordon Head Residents Association, BC Hydro and bordering property owners.
Both deciduous and coniferous trees will be planted: Alaskan seeping cypress, Bruns Serbian spruce, flame amur maple, Japanese katsura, goldenrain, Vanessa Persian ironwood, hinoki false cypress, vanderwolf limber pine, thundercloud flowering plum (fruitless variety) and honey locust frisia.
Signs will be erected on the Barrie Road corridor explaining the replanting plan. Removal and stump grinding began Sept. 1 and will last approximately three weeks, in partnership with BC Hydro.