Open letter to mayor and city council.
Many residents, including myself, are very concerned at the loss of mature trees in our neighbourhoods due to development.
Construction of lot-filling, new houses has led to the removal of healthy mature trees.
Residents continue to protest this trend, which is happening despite the city’s Tree Protection By-Laws.
Council can act now to mitigate some of this tree destruction.
Richmond has some beautiful, boulevard-style streets with trees on each side. There are also streets with adequate room for trees on the side of the roadways, but sadly no trees have been planted.
I suggest council mandate the planting of trees on these streets.
This action would follow the city’s official community plan, which states that the preservation of the neighbourhoods’ ecological network is a priority.
Residents could be involved in identifying those streets where such planting should occur.
Completion of a tree canopy study in Richmond, which I have previously suggested, would also be a helpful step to addressing this priority.
Without such actions, the livability of our neighbourhoods is threatened.
Mary Phillips
Richmond
