MONTREAL – An old silver maple tree that is slated to be removed in NDG is creating a lot of controversy.
The silver maple, located at 3808 Old Orchard Avenue, is considered unhealthy and poses a public risk according to NDG city councillor Peter McQueen.
He told Global News the borough plans to cut the tree down in the next few weeks.
But removing the big old tree is sprouting a huge controversy.
NDG resident Ian Barrett is going door-to-door dropping off a letter trying to convince the public to stop the CDN-NDG borough from taking chainsaws to the tree.
“The oldest, best, biggest trees should be the ones treated with the most respect,” Barrett told Global News.
He argued the borough needs to do more to protect old trees that provide a canopy on some of the historic streets.
“They tear an old tree down for what reason? It doesn’t make sense to me,” he said.
“These are beautiful. These are the things that give us pleasure.”
But McQueen insisted the tree poses a risk to public safety and private property.
Some residents agree.
Barry Williams has been living on Old Orchard Ave. for 42 years and argued the tree is unhealthy, filled with holes and should be cut to the ground.
“It’s past its prime. It’s not a healthy tree and it could be a potential danger for house owners and people who park their cars on this road,” he said.
According to the city, trees that are felled are supposed to be replaced with younger, healthy ones.
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