Hydro to cut down more than 260 trees on stretch of Selkirk Avenue

Manitoba Hydro is cutting down 262 mature trees growing near power lines along a north Winnipeg street, drawing objections from the city and disappointment from canopy advocates.

The trees, mostly Siberian elms, are being removed next week on Selkirk Avenue, between Keewatin and Railway streets, to prevent power outages and eliminate safety hazards for workers when they conduct maintenance or repairs, the Crown corporation said Friday.

“Tree contact is the second-most common cause of power outages in Manitoba, and many of these could be avoided simply by keeping the trees away from power lines,” Hydro spokesman Peter Chura said. “On the safety side, this is critical.”

Hydro said the trees are encroaching on 22 spans of 24,000-volt power lines that provide electricity to thousands of homes and businesses.

There is a danger when trees become “energized,” starting fires or bringing down wires, the public utility said.

Removing this many trees at once is unusual, Chura said. The trees were planted after hydro poles were installed starting in 1957, he added.

Most of the trees are on City of Winnipeg land, where they provide a barrier between houses and a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. intermodal yard on a one-kilometre stretch of Selkirk. Some are just inside CPKC’s fenced property.

The city became aware of the issue earlier this year, spokesman Adam Campbell said.

“Despite our attempts to work with Hydro on a plan to preserve the trees through pruning or replanting, they have now informed us they intend to remove them without compensation to the city for replanting,” he wrote in an email to the Free Press.

“We intend to continue discussions with Hydro regarding compensation to the city for us to replant the trees.”

CPKC declined to comment. Hydro doesn’t need a land owner’s permission to cut down trees it deems a risk to power lines and/or safety.

The Manitoba Hydro Act gives the Crown corporation the authority to carry out the work on public or private land. The act does not require Hydro to compensate land owners or plant new trees.

The trees are in Coun. Vivian Santos’ ward of Point Douglas. She said she hopes the city and Hydro come to an “amicable” agreement regarding compensation.

“Any tree loss to our canopy is a detriment to our community, especially in this particular area that is surrounded by rail lines and industrial land,” said Santos, who is council’s community services chair.

“It’s unfortunate there could not be some kind of amenable approach to this instead of going ahead and cutting them all down, and having no replacement of trees.”

Hydro ruled out trimming as an option because Siberian elms, which grow fast and tall, would be a continual problem, Chura said.

“Cutting far enough to avoid that would just kill the tree,” he said.

Selkirk Avenue resident Gail Allard was upset when she found a notice from Manitoba Hydro in her mailbox a few days ago.

“I don’t want the trees to be gone. It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “It just makes our view ugly.”

Allard said the trees, when in bloom, are a nicer view than stacked shipping containers, and act as a sound barrier to noise from the intermodal yard. Notices were delivered to 64 homes, Chura said.

Organizations that plant trees and advocate for policies to protect Winnipeg’s canopy were disappointed.

Erna Buffie of Trees Please Winnipeg, a coalition of community groups, and Christian Cassidy, executive director of Trees Winnipeg, said Hydro should be required to replace trees or provide compensation.

“Siberian elms are high-benefit trees. That is a mini-forest that they’re taking down,” Buffie said.

“It’s really frustrating when you’re trying to plant hundreds of trees and you think you’re doing a good job, and then you turn around and someone has cut down hundreds of trees,” Cassidy said.

Buffie has advocated for public and private tree bylaws. City hall set a goal of expanding the canopy cover to 24 per cent from 17 per cent by 2065, after a recent decline.

“We can’t save every tree, but we can save a lot more mature trees than we’re doing now,” Buffie said.

It was unclear what kind of policies existed when the trees along Selkirk were planted decades ago, but the city currently follows the “right tree, right place” concept to avoid conflicts with overhead obstacles such as wires.

Hydro hired a contractor to carry out next week’s work. The resulting wood must be properly disposed of to prevent the spread of Dutch elm disease, Chura noted.

The Crown corporation is devoting more money and staff to trim or remove trees and bushes. The budget has doubled to $27 million this year.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca