Businesses forced to wait on city crews to clean up toppled trees

CALGARY- Toppled trees are being picked up and the power is being restored, but it’s still not business as usual for a number of local stores.

Parts of popular 17 Avenue S.W., Kensington and 4th Street are still littered with broken tree limbs following a summer snowstorm, forcing pedestrians to walk around the hazards or duck as they pass under leafy canopies.

Because the trees are on city property, only city crews are allowed to clean them up—meaning business owners have to simply watch and wait.

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“I tried calling the city, nothing. I got put on hold forever, pretty much gave up on that,” complains Oleg Komar, co-owner of Galla Bistro which has a 25 foot branch sprawled across its patio. “It’s a city tree right, so we don’t really know what to do now.”

Businesses hope the cleanup will be finished by the weekend, when sunny weather is expected to lure Calgarians to their patios.

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