Snow-clearing ‘carelessness’ damages newly planted trees on Elmwood street

A city councillor said she will be seeking answers after a snowplow damaged trees on an Elmwood street.

Coun. Emma Durand-Wood, who represents Elmwood-East Kildonan, said she will be speaking to the city’s public works department to find out what happened, who is responsible and if penalties will be issued after the incident on Larsen Avenue Dec. 23.

Aurele Jack and Catherine Anobis reported the damage to the city.

Jack and Anobis were sitting in their home in the 500 block of Larsen when they saw plows driving down their street. The first plow passed without incident, but the second side-swiped numerous trees on the boulevard, the couple said.

On Sunday, it appeared eight of the 10 trees on the south side of the street had been damaged. The damage ranged from minor scrapes on branches to a split in the trunk of the tree that sits in front of the couple’s home.

City employees planted the trees in late October, Jack said.

“I was outright angry,” he said of seeing the damaged trees.

Jack has done snow removal for the city in the past and understands that it’s a demanding job with long hours, but he was taken aback by the operator’s inattentiveness.

“There’s no reason for that,” Jack said. “That’s laziness, that’s carelessness. If you don’t want to do the job, get out of the seat (and) put somebody in there that’s gonna do the job.”

Jack called 311 to report the incident. Anobis posted about it in a community Facebook group, urging neighbours to call the city if the same thing happened on their streets.

“That’s laziness, that’s carelessness. If you don’t want to do the job, get out of the seat (and) put somebody in there that’s gonna do the job.”

“It was very disappointing because these trees were put in by the city, which means our tax dollars paid for them,” Anobis said. “I’m assuming our tree is probably gonna have to be replaced… and that’s gonna come out of our pockets again.”

The damage on Larsen is upsetting, Durand-Wood said.

“As someone who worked really hard in the advocacy world to improve the number of trees that the city is planting… it’s really upsetting to see any trees, but especially boulevard trees, to be damaged in that way,” she said.

Winnipeg uses both city operators and private contractors to clear snow.

She urged Winnipeg residents to contact 311 if they see any issues.

“The city is so big… and we really need people to report when they see things like this,” Durand-Wood said.

The tree in front of the couple’s home will not survive, a longtime arborist said after reviewing photos of the damage.

“There’s no reason why (the other trees) won’t survive… but it’s just another challenge they have to face, due to the carelessness of snow clearing,” said Nick Wagstaff of Above and Below Tree Care.

The wounds leave the trees more susceptible to infection, Wagstaff said, adding he sees trees damaged by city plows “regularly.”

“It’s sad that snow clearers are so careless around valuable infrastructure,” he said. “More care should be taken around living infrastructure, as well as things like curbs and signposts.”

Jack and Anobis aren’t the first residents to voice concern over tree damage.

In 2022, a Bridgwater Forest resident reported a snow-clearing machine broke multiple branches on her front yard tree.

Last December, residents of Hennessey Drive were shocked to see two mature boulevard trees badly damaged by snow-clearing equipment.

The street is known during the holidays as Polar Bear Lane and the trees had been decorated for Christmas. They were reduced to stumps a few hours after being damaged.

“Conflicts between trees and snow/ice equipment occur every season, but the amount of damage varies… We recover costs associated with damaged trees and use this to fund replanting trees.

Tree damage happens every year, a spokeswoman for the city said at the time.

“Conflicts between trees and snow/ice equipment occur every season, but the amount of damage varies,” Julie Horbal Dooley said in an email. “We recover costs associated with damaged trees and use this to fund replanting trees. Replanting occurs either in the same location or nearby, depending on available space.”

Winnipeg’s tree canopy has thinned out for decades, with the city planting far fewer trees on public land than it lost to natural death, severe weather, development and disease. Between 2014 and 2024, 59,576 public trees were lost and just 31,557 were planted, for an overall loss of 28,019, city data shows.

That trend is slowly reversing. The Free Press reported in August that in 2024, the City of Winnipeg planted almost as many public trees as it lost, with 6,508 trees removed and 6,484 planted.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca

Aaron Epp
Reporter

Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.