Two tall trees recently cut down along Fern Crescent near 236th Street were chopped because they were not in good health, the City of Maple Ridge said Friday.
The trees were along the south side of the road that leads to Golden Ears Provincial Park.
According to the general manager of engineering services Dave Pollock, the hemlock trees were dead and had to be removed by the parks department.
“The removals are not related to any contemplated road works,” Pollock said.
The City of Maple Ridge eventually wants to improve cycling and pedestrian paths in that area and re-align some curves and redo the intersection at Fern Crescent and 236th Street.
Read more: Maple Ridge’s magical Fern Crescent plans on the back burner
That will involve public consultation once the project gets farther along.
However, the only work done so far has been to create and evaluate some potential road alignments, while considering the possible impacts on the corridor, Pollock said.
“Given the limited work to date, there has been no public consultation,” he added.
Read more: Maple Ridge wants to hear about Fern Crescent
Re-aligning the road can be done in different ways and doesn’t entail a wholesale straightening of the road, he said previously.
The roadway has seen increases in traffic volumes as Golden Ears Provincial Park has become one of the most-visited provincial parks in B.C. More than 600,000 people visit the park annually.
The project raised concern among residents in October 2017 and led to a rally dubbed, “Tell City Hall No to Tree removal and No to straightening Fern Cres,” hosted by Peter Tam, a former Green party candidate who lives in the area.
pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
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