DEAR EDITOR:
I was deeply saddened to see BC Hydro completely cut down six huge trees on private property in the area near the Upper Levels Highway behind my house. This solution to guarding against power outages is shortsighted and destructive, akin to cutting off one's leg to prevent it from being broken.
The obvious argument against this practice is the increase in noise from the Upper Levels Highway. This noise now reverberates throughout Dundarave and Altamont, leading to the question of when West Vancouver will get the acoustic sound barriers now being erected in North Vancouver. The trees also mitigated the noxious fumes generated by heavy Upper Levels Highway traffic.
Breathing toxic fumes in the barrage of sounds emanating from the highway is not the image West Vancouverites have of themselves. Yet it is the reality.
It's too late to rescue the stand of trees. It will take at least 80 years for them to grow back. It is not too late to protect the health of people by erecting noise and pollution barriers along the highway.
Oksana Richards
West Vancouver
