A group of Norgate community members were irked last week to see some treasured trees in their neighbourhood getting the chainsaw treatment.
The District of North Vancouver's parks department removed the 30-year-old Cypress trees along the Spirit Trail after they became diseased with a root rot infection, "The trees had been identified as hazardous and posed a safety risk. Crews had to wait for the end of the bird nesting season before they could remove them," said Stephanie Smiley, district spokeswoman, in an email.
"The district parks department is currently finalizing a restoration program for that section and they will begin restoration work in the coming weeks."
The dead trees were "tinder dry" and at risk of fire if exposed to a spark.
Smiley said district staff received the blessing of the Norgate Community Association before carrying out the work.
But the trees will be missed as they insulated the residential neighbourhood from the lightindustrial properties south of Welch.
"The issue now is they've completely opened up Welch Street from our side of the neighbourhood, which has really created a lot of noise, a lot of light in the evening time," said Martin Scoles, a Beechwood Crescent resident.
"That they've gone in there to take it down, that's a good thing. What they're going to put back is really the main question. Am I going to have to wait five years before I get my buffer back?"
