Lawrence Park residents fighting to save 350 trees

The trees, the greenery and the ambiance are the reasons people like Rick Hutcheon chose to move into the Lawrence Park neighbourhood.

“We moved in here because we have a nice tree canopy,” he explained. “It’s a bit of country in the city.”

But now area residents fear the scenic views in their community are in jeopardy.

Hutcheon is part of a community group putting up signs in his neighbourhood to draw attention to a city plan that he fears could take down as many as 350 trees.

The reason – a 20-street sewer and water main project.

The proposal also includes building sidewalks on some streets in the area, which is not proving to be popular among residents.

“It’s a very quiet street, and we’re doing just fine,” area resident Jen Saunders said. “We’d rather have the big trees.”

Their feelings are echoed by Ward 25 city councillor Jaye Robinson, who strongly believes the trees can be preserved.

“I am a huge tree advocate and no way are 350 trees coming down on my watch,” she said. “It’ll never happen.”

Robinson said a similar project took place in Hogg’s Hollow and most of the trees survived.

“We almost preserved all the trees, and that’s extensive work we’ve done in Hogg’s Hollow, with a lot of flooding issues in that area. We’ll see as the project unfolds,” she explained.

However, Robinson claims the residents’ figure is inaccurate, and the number of trees that could potentially be impacted by these city projects is actually closer to 106.

In order to find funding to complete this project, the city still needs provincial approval. Estimated costs for this work range from 75 to 150-million dollars.

The City of Toronto is planning a community meeting on Thursday to address the issue. The meeting will take place at 6:00 p.m. at the Lawrence Park Community Church on 2180 Bayview Avenue.