Price tag on Queen St. tree replacement project - $1.35 million

Their bark chewed up by an invasive beetle species from Asia, the remaining ash trees on Queen St. need to be replaced at a cost of $1.35 million, City Council will learn on Tuesday.

"Urban trees create value by providing spaces where people want to live and do business," Don McConnell. the city's director of planning and enterprise services, says in a writen report.

"People judge a community by its downtown and urban trees help to create an environment in which people want to live and invest," McConnel says.

"A vibrant downtown is also essential to creating a positive community identity."

McConnell's $1.35 million price tag includes street furniture such as bike racks, benches and trash cans.

He's recommending the work be done over two years: the two blocks from Spring to Bruce in 2018 and the two blocks between East and Spring in 2019.

The downtown ash trees were planted in 1982 but have been recently devastated by the emerald ash borer, a beetle native to China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia and Taiwan that destroys 99 per cent of ash trees within six years of its arrival.

"Once infected, the trees may appear healthy but are susceptible to catastrophic failure as they are structurally weakened and likely to break up in high winds, " McConnell says.

Two years ago, ash trees on Queen between Bruce and  Dennis were replaced as part of the city’s downtown development program.

"The ash trees were replaced by a variety of different species that tolerate urban growing conditions," McConnell says.

"These trees were planted in trenches which will allow the tree roots to spread within an area of uncompacted soil."

Last year, new trees were also installed during the rebuilding of Gore St. 

"A different approach was used which involves the use of a structural support system which creates more open space on the sidewalk for patios, special events and maintenance vehicles."

"The Queen Street blocks between Pim and East streets, and Dennis and Gore streets also include street trees of several different species. Some of these trees can be retained while others will also need to be replaced in the near future."

McConnell says that city planning staff and the Downtown Association agree that the downtown planter boxes are no longer appropriate.

"From a maintenance perspective, they are a major obstruction for snow removal and from a business owner's perspective they reduce the amount of space on the sidewalk which can be used for outdoor displays or patios. It is recommended that Queen St. tree replacement occur using a combination of trench and structural support systems."

"Detailed design will be done on a block-by-block basis in consultation with the existing businesses and property owners to provide for specific requirements such as outdoor patio space and public seating."

McConnell says there's also interest in sprucing up downtown with some decorative lighting.

Queen St. will need to be resurfaced about five years from now and city staff are recomending that street lighting, underground wiring and needed sanitary sewer work be done at that time.

This week's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.