The Rail Construction Program would like to provide notice that tree clearing will be taking place in Woodpark Neighbourhood this October and November to avoid the 2020 bird nesting and bat roosting season. This activity is required in advance of utility relocation, foundation, guideway, cut-and-cover and station construction important to continuity of the Project schedule.
For the Tree Removal program in Byron Linear Park, the contractor has advised that work will begin November 4th in the west moving east. They will secure the section that they are working on with snow fencing, when there is a Multi Use Pathway it will either be flagged or detoured depending on the section. Below you will find images of Byron Park, the blue circled sections are the areas where the trees will be removed. I’ve also attached the notice and fact sheet that have been previously distributed.
Tree and vegetation removal is anticipated to begin at Lincoln Fields as early as October 2 and within Byron Linear Park as early as November.
The public can expect to see all tree and vegetation removal prior to the end of 2019. Construction of the west corridor will occur in stages and may not be immediately scheduled to occur at the start of the 2020 construction season.
Design and construction crews, along with environmental specialist oversight from arborists and biologists, intend to limit clearing only where future work is required and retain natural vegetation. Tree replanting and landscape plans along the alignment, including boulevards, parks and other greenspaces, are outlined early on and finalized during the latter years of construction as part of restoration and finishing work. The City is also incorporating the appropriate long-term planting and landscape plans outside of the LRT alignment area.
Tree Loss Mitigation and Replacement
The following measures have been taken to mitigate tree loss:
- Limit clearing to only where required in temporary easement areas
- Leave trees along property lines (backyards, businesses, parks) where possible
- Design of pathways to incorporate existing trees
- Critical Root Zone protection for trees along limits
- Where removal is unavoidable, an overall average replacement ratio of 2:1 (two trees for each one removed) will be replanted along the alignment.
As part of the Project’s mitigation strategies, a tree inventory and replacement plan guide how LRT greenspaces will be returned after construction. An overall average replacement ratio of 2:1 (two trees for every one removed) will be replanted along the alignment.
Additionally, butternut trees within the construction area (located along the west extension) that require removal are managed under the Species-at-risk Act and replacement ratios may be increased depending on tree health and other factors.
Questions
Further information regarding this work can be found on Ottawa.ca/Stage2 under the Ongoing Work section.
