By Charlene Gatt
A BAND of Kingsville residents is furious at a Maribyrnong City Council decision to cut down 27 trees in two streets.
The council will cut down the Gleditsia trees from nature strips along Queensville and Chirnside streets in mid-April as part of works for new roads, curbs and channels.
The council will replace them with Ornamental Pear trees.
The council’s manager of operations and maintenance Jodie Maxwell said the street works were likely to impact the root systems of the trees.
“There is also the potential for large trees to interfere with overhead electrical wires,” Ms Maxwell said.
“The council has a list of preferred tree. The existing Gleditsias are not on the council’s preferred street tree list due to their overhanging foliage and extensive root systems.”
The reason comes as a surprise to long-time resident Joe Grimes, who was part of a council planning group that helped pick the trees around 20 years ago.
Mr Grimes also showed Star last week that there were no power lines along one side of the street for the trees to be tangled up in.
“It would just look hideous if they (the trees) were taken out,” he said.
“It’s about the whole look of the street. Its taken years and years to get it like this.
“Some councils do everything they can to try and save trees.”
Neighbour Sharie Butt agreed.
“The West is known to be ugly because we don’t have trees, but our council wants to cut them down because the maintenance is too high with the overhead power lines,” she said.
“If you go into any other council area, they all have street canopies of trees and overhead power lines and they seem to cope with it.
“We will never get trees of this size again.”
The council also removed trees from part of Queensville St last year.
Ms Maxwell said the Gleditsias were considered a good choice for the street 20 years ago, but in hindsight have “proven to be problematic in regard to maintenance and their extensive root systems”.
The council will meet with residents this Saturday to discuss the road improvement works and tree removals.
