Desperately needed tree maintenance could be one of the services chopped during final deliberations of the 2009 city budget.
Although the city says this would only defer the maintenance program for a year, Nicole Parent, chairperson of the Ottawa forests and greenspace advisory committee, says she feels council isn’t being honest.
“I’ve found that the word ‘defer’ is a fancy word for cut,” says Parent.
The Trees and Forests Maintenance Program began in 2008 and calls for trees to be trimmed every 35 years. The industry standard is every seven years.
If the program is not kept, city forester Tracy Smith says tree maintenance will continue on a purely reactive basis.
This means trimming would occur only when citizens call in, when there are concerns for health and safety, and in emergency situations.
She says this is an obstacle for city staff, who are trying to develop a systematic approach to trimming.
“Safety-wise it can become an issue,” says Smith.
Smith adds overgrown trees can become a legal liability for the city.
Trimming removes dead and diseased branches, improves tree structure and growth, and ensures that city street signs aren’t obscured by overhanging branches.
Parent says the city should continue to move towards this goal and make cuts elsewhere.
She says the city should instead consider halting new road projects and environmental assessments on areas which it doesn’t always have the money to buy.
“Finish the existing projects before you start new ones,” she says.
Jim McCready, a program forester with Tree Canada, says trees should be treated like any other city infrastructure, such as roads or sewers.
Because trees take carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen, they are essential contributors to quality of life in cities.
McCready adds that in winter trees can reduce heating bills because bare branches still allow sunlight through, while providing natural relief from heat in summer with their foliage. In the summer, they can reduce air conditioning bills up to as much as 30 per cent.
In Parent’s opinion, the city is being too cavalier with this valuable resource.
“If you buy a car are you going to defer maintenance every year? If you buy a house are you not going to maintain it? It doesn’t make sense. If you have an asset you have to take care of it.”