JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

The City of Montreal will not remove any of the 500 trees that were planted in a clearing in the riverside Parc des Rapides-du-Cheval-Blanc in Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

That is the latest word from the city’s executive committee, despite pleas from local residents that the decision earlier this summer to plant about 500 trees and 250 shrubs in the park will eliminate a much-used open green space in the community.

The news of the refusal to the residents’ request to move the trees was delivered by Montreal city councillor Alex Norris earlier this month during a meeting with bourough councillors.

Local residents say the decision is not only disappointing, but frustrating as they have failed at every turn to plead their case with city officials.

“It just seems like they’re doing everything they can to not face us,” said Pierrefonds-Roxboro resident D.J. El-Tayar, who has acted as spokesperson for the residents.

Since early July, El-Tayar and several other residents of Riviera St. have been speaking out after their neighbourhood park was roped off and about 500 trees and 250 shrubs were planted without consultation. The planting was conducted on behalf of the REM, as part of an effort to offset the environmental impact of constructing the new light rail transit network across Montreal.

The approximately 14,000 square metres of mostly open green space in the park had been enjoyed by residents as a locale for many barbecues, outdoor games and other social gatherings.

Now, the park will grow into a small, dense forest. This will not only eliminate the open green space but will also block much of the view of Rivière des Prairies from the neighbouring apartment complexes once the trees have grown.

El-Tayar pointed out the issues the neighbourhood has experienced with squatting in the more heavily forested areas. By expanding the forest into their section of the park, El-Tayar said some residents fear that it will bring vagrancy and drug use closer to their doorsteps.

Officials in Pierrefonds-Roxboro said they too had been caught off guard by the planting. Though they had named this portion of the Parc des Rapides-du-Cheval-Blanc as one of several potential planting spots for trees in the area, the borough had not been made aware of when the planting would take place, nor how many trees would be planted.

“The scope of and the quantity of trees was something that we had no idea about,” Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis said in an interview. The borough halted NouvLR from further planting in the park following the initial outcry from residents.

A ‘pattern’ by the city

Both Beis and the residents have been adamant that they are not “anti-tree.”

“Nobody is opposed to planting trees,” Beis explained: “We (have) one of the highest, if not the highest tree canopy on the Island of Montreal. We’re very proud of that.”

Indeed, each time the residents have spoken to The 1510 West about this issue, they have firmly stated their desire to see some, not all, of the trees removed and replanted elsewhere in Pierrefonds-Roxboro, even presenting possible locations.

Beis and the residents point out a lack of communication on the part of Montreal city officials.

For Beis, this isn’t anything new from this city administration. He lamented that the city has shown a pattern of making unilateral decisions impacting boroughs, lacking proper communication and collaboration.

“If they would have communicated with us, we would have come up with a better solution, including the residents in that area,” he said.

El-Tayar and the other residents added that they will plan their next steps over the coming weeks and are not giving up on this issue.