Good news could be on way for tree-loving Vaughan residents

Yorkregion.com
June 18, 2015
By Adam Martin-Robbins

If you lost the city-owned tree on the boulevard in front your home in the December 2013 ice storm, but didn’t make the cut to have it replaced this year, there could be some good news coming.

Vaughan Public Works Commissioner Paul Jankowski told councillors Tuesday the city got “an extraordinarily good deal” from the company awarded the contract to replace 3,840 trees in hardest hit residential areas.

As a result, the city has an unexpected $775,954 in its accounts for this year, which could be used to plant more trees than originally planned.

Before a decision is made about that, staff want to monitor the contractor’s performance for a couple of months to ensure it’s meeting the city’s standards, Jankowski said.

If everything is up to snuff, additional trees could be planted in the fall, he added.

“I want to express my satisfaction and delight at this report,” Regional Councillor Mario Ferri said Tuesday.

The city also plans on creating a dedicated page on its website (vaughan.ca) so residents can track when tree replacement is scheduled to happen on their street, Jankowski noted.

The city would have to replant about 16,500 street trees in order to totally replace those lost to the ice storm, Emerald Ash Borer and other causes.

There are also another 4,800 locations in city parks and other open areas that need replacement trees.

The estimated cost of replanting all of those trees has been pegged at $10.8 million. Given that, it will take the city several years to get the work done.

But many residents are champing at the bit to have their trees replaced now, Thornhill Councillor Alan Shefman pointed out.

“The pressure from residents is extraordinary,” said Shefman, noting he gets at least two calls a day from people asking when a replacement tree will be planted.

Residents can, of course, plant their own boulevard tree provided they pay for it and get approval from the city on location and species, among other things.