MARIBYRNONG council has continued to cut down mature trees in Kingsville despite residents seeking a postponement of the work.
Queensville Street residents are upset at the removal of more than two dozen trees but the council argues they had to go and that 60 new trees will be planted in their place.
Resident Toni McClean said she and other residents were emotional about losing the trees.
“They’re melaleucas, they were 40 years old,” she said. “They’re quite significant trees and they’re native to Australia – there’s just no mercy, really.”
Ms McClean said “a nice cathedral effect” down Queensville Street had been destroyed.
“We don’t hear the birds any more – the birdlife has gone,” she said.
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Mark Stacey said that after a similar tree removal on nearby Wales Street, the summers were hotter.
“It’s cut first then ask questions later,” he said.
Fiona Knight said she asked the council workers what alternatives had been considered for saving the trees and she had been told there was no other way.
“They’ve come from the premise they just want to do the work and they just want to chop the trees down,” she said. “We asked for six months to look at alternatives.”
The residents have formed a Save SKY (Seddon, Kingsville and Yarraville) Streetscapes group, which now has almost 40 members.
Ms Knight said it was too late to protect the trees on Queensville Street, but hopefully other street trees could be saved.
The tree removal was carried out as part of underground drainage works.
Yarraville ward councillor Martin Zakharov said if the trees had been left in place, the drainage works could have damanged the roots and caused the trees to die slowly.
“In some of these streets there has been nothing significant done in more than 60 years,” he said. Cr Zakharov said the drought had taken its toll on many of the area’s trees, causing roots to become shallow and spread towards homes.
He added that street trees would always attract a wide range of opinions. “The council tries to prepare appropriate guidelines,” he said. “It is not a situation where there is a compromise that suits everybody.”
The council is expected to adopt its new street tree planting strategy at next Tuesday’s city development special committee meeting.
