Old trees a problem in East Hill neighbourhood

By Matt Kerr

Anne Bennett is waiting for the city to remove a tree at the back of her house on Queen Street. A tree fell through her porch earlier this year. Photo by Matt Kerr

Carol O’Shaughnessy-Nikolic has lived on Foster in East Hill for over 50 years and now decorates her little bush on the front of her property instead of the big tree that was recently removed.

“We used to have the third largest oak in Belleville but the branches were coming down and knocking out the power,” said O’Shaughnessy-Nikolic

She says, East Hill is beautiful because of the trees, birds and squirrels live in them and it beautifies the city.

The only problem is that the old growth trees are starting to die off. The East Hill neighbourhood in Belleville is known for its trees that are over 100 years old.  Disease and city planning now has the trees slowly facing removal over the next few years.

A month ago a few highly visible old growth trees were removed from the corner of Bridge St. East and Bleecker Ave.

The trees are not being removed because of development or eyesore; the old growth trees are starting to die off for a number of reasons.

“The main reason is that the roads over the years have widened and the area that the trees have to survive in has gotten smaller and smaller,” said Chuck Naphan Naphan who works for the City of Belleville environmental and operational services. He has to do most of the tree cutting around Belleville.

Naphan said he removes between 40 and 50 trees each year in the city but they plant on average 200.

Some of the residents do not like the decision but agree that it is necessary to remove them if it creates safety concerns.

Arin Anderson who lives on Foster thinks the city is taking the easy way out removing the trees. She said it looks terrible after the trees were removed. One of the reasons she moved there was the big old trees.

The trees have to compete with modern conveniences like asphalt, sidewalks and hydro wires. The roots do not have enough room to grow so sections of the trees start to die off and become a safety hazard.

“They were all planted around the same time, around the turn of the century and they are all dying at the same time,” said Naphan

The city’s care of the trees has been good according to Anne Bennett. Bennett lives on Queen St. and had a 70-foot tree fall in April that landed on the front porch.

“The city came immediately to clean up the fallen tree and they were good with cleaning the property,” said Bennett

She said where else in Belleville have you got the trees, she has lived in East Hill her whole life. It is one of the only areas in the city with these kinds of trees.

Agnes Finckle said the city is doing a doing job. A pine tree fell on their house on Charles St. earlier in the year. She said the city was quick with cleaning up the mess it made.

One of the main forces destroying the trees is the electrical utility in Belleville.

According to Naphan, 75 years ago the power lines were 8000-volt on an 18-foot pole. With the population increase and the increased demand for electricity the wattage has gone to 44,000-volt on a 50-foot pole.

With 8000-vols the clearance needed from all trees is 1/3 of a meter. With 44,000-vols the clearance area is three and a half meters.

“Now with the clearance the tree has to be trimmed way back and they look out of shape and have to be trimmed around the wires,” said Naphan.

All the problems are caused by human intervention; the streets have gotten wider, the sidewalks are wider, herbicides used on lawns have all contributed to the early demise of the trees.

Most of the trees will have to be removed in the interest of public safety.

“The trees have structural problems, one of the big limbs that is 30 feet long and two feet in diameter weighs as much as a car, you can imagine if one of these limbs fell and hit a car or person walking or a house, when it comes to that we have to remove them,” said Naphan.

Belleville has three reasons to remove a tree; if the tree is too big for the lot; if the tree is grossly disfigured from trimming; or if it’s dead or dying and causing damage.

When the city is plants new trees, they move them much further back so they don’t grow into the wires.

The city’s budget for tree service every year is $500,000. Naphan said he spends every cent of it.

Sandra Russell works as a crossing guard at the intersection of Bridge St and Anne St. She said that it is a shame they are cutting down the trees because they make the area beautiful.