Trees fall in Thornhill for rapidway construction

More than 1,000 new trees to be planted once project is complete

Yorkregion.com
June 16, 2016
By Simone Joseph

If you see trees being cut down or moved in the Bathurst and Centre Streets area of Thornhill, don’t be alarmed, Vaughan Councillor Alan Shefman says.

It is just part of the construction process for Viva’s rapid transit lanes.

Bathurst and Centre Streets are being widened for rapid ways - dedicated lanes in the centre of the road used for bus rapid transit. Trees that are within the road widening area need to be removed to allow for water main replacement, utility relocation and road widening work activities, according to information from the VivaNext website.

“I’ve had a few people asking what was going on,” Shefman said, and some concerns about the tree-cutting have come to The Liberal newsroom.

This is the domain of Viva and York Region, but not the City of Vaughan. However, Shefman says York Region and Viva have shared many of their plans with the city.

He said the trees must be removed as they interfere with the construction process.

Starting the week of May 23, crews began the first phase of tree removals along Bathurst and Centre Streets, in preparation for water main replacement work.

During the first phase of removals, 156 trees of varying health and sizes are being removed from York Region’s right-of-way. An effort will be made to protect 841 existing trees. In addition, 38 trees will be transplanted to three parks in Thornhill.

Shefman said he has been told residents in the area will end up with more trees when construction is finished and replanting is done. He suggests going to the Viva website.

Phase one of the tree clearing will be completed by the end of this week, so long as there aren’t any weather delays.

Workers are completing various tasks at different locations along both sides of Bathurst (from Centre Street to 407 ETR) and along Centre (from Hwy. 7 to Bathurst) on the existing Viva route.

Once the rapidway project is complete, landscaping will feature more than 1,000 new trees and 8,000 shrubs. The species of trees being removed during this initial phase are Emerald Ash, Russian Olive, Honey Locust, Maples, Cedar, Basswood, Oak, Elm, Linden, Aspen, Cherry and Spruce.

Once the rapidway is built, the goal is to present a Hwy. 7 West corridor with “attractive, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and extensive landscaping with many types of trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses and perennial flowers,” according to Vivanext site.

Go to vivanext.com for details.