Chopping down of 277 trees in North Glenmore Park shocks some nearby residents
City removing the trees to relocate a storm-water trunk as part of ring road construction
Residents in the Lakeview area are expressing shock after seeing hundreds of trees cut down in North Glenmore Park as part of the ring road construction project.
The City of Calgary is removing 277 trees from the park to relocate a storm-water trunk that currently crosses through Tsuut'ina First Nation lands.
While city officials have been communicating their plans for several months now, the construction caught some park users by surprise.
"There was absolutely no signage, and I was able to walk up and talk to people that were operating the equipment," said Carolyn Herold, who lives nearby and regularly walks through the park.
The Lakeview Community Association has been reminding area residents about the looming removal for several weeks now, but noted that signs in some parts of the park did not let visitors know about the construction.
"The signage on site — it needs to be enhanced," said association president Geoffrey Vandenburg.
"All of a sudden you hear the heavy equipment and you see the massive construction and you certainly wonder if you're not in the loop, " he added.
"With residents that back onto the park, I know I met door to door with a fair number of them," said Charles Pullan, a senior engineer on the project with the City of Calgary.
"If concerns are brought up ... we can definitely assist in adding additional signage to warn pedestrians," he added, encouraging residents who would like to see additional signage to call 311.
North Glenmore Park is still open to the public during this construction.
"It's just the areas that will be fenced off where the actual construction work is happening that will be actually closed," said Pullan.
The project is on track to be completed by mid 2018. The city intends to plant more than 2,000 new trees in the park to make up for the 277 they are cutting down, along with improvements to picnic sites and parking.