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Tree problem ongoing in Banff

Editor: Re: “Town Replacing Avenue Trees”, RMO, June 16. a/ Councillor Taylor is quoted as stating that she “wanted to throttle” the fellow who jumped into a planter and chained his bike to a birch tree.

Editor:

Re: “Town Replacing Avenue Trees”, RMO, June 16.

a/ Councillor Taylor is quoted as stating that she “wanted to throttle” the fellow who jumped into a planter and chained his bike to a birch tree.

It is quite possible that this fellow, and numerous other cyclists, would like to throttle the planners who failed to adequately provide for the needs of cyclists when they decided to install the numerous stone enclosures that were to contain trees, most (97 dead of 174 planted = 55.7 per cent dead) of which are now dead.

Obviously, some cyclists feel that more bicycle racks and fewer, or smaller, treed areas would have been better than the current streetscaping that resulted from Banff Avenue Refreshing.

b/ It seems ironic that some of the 44.3 per cent of surviving trees are the birches that obscure the crosswalk sign in front of Evelyn’s… Again in the 100 block of Banff Avenue.

c/ Ms. Ellis wrote that “There was no warranty period for any planter material because of the way the contract was set up.” and “There also appears to be no recourse to go after the landscape architecture consultant for money due to problems with the soil composition.”

She wrote that Mr. McKay stated “It was somewhat inconclusive in the end over whose fault it was.” From what Ms. Ellis has reported, it seems reasonable to conclude that it was the fault of Townlawyers and/or the Town planner and/or the Town Manager as it appears that they neglected to ensure the Town’s interests were protected when they wrote the treeplanting contract.

Perhaps the reasons for this failure to look after the best interests of Banff taxpayers are the same reasons why Banff Avenue Refreshing took two summer seasons to complete rather than the one summer we were promised.

Jon Whelan,

Banff

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