A multi-year fight to save the trees along Victoria Avenue in Chatham has ended positively for residents living in the area.
Councillor Micahel Bondy, who is also a resident of Victoria Avenue, said municipal staff informed him last week that a sewer replacement and road reconstruction project was removed from the municipality's five-year priority list.
The project was initially set to start in 2022.
"They [the municipality] indicated that the sewers were checked and were fine for now," said Bondy. "There are other pressing priorities in the municipality."
Bondy said the work will eventually have to happen because all sewers need replacing at some point. However, the big concern was about the trees and the reconstruction of Victoria Avenue.
The project proposed adding a 1.5 metre wide ‘in-road’ bike lane along both sides of Victoria Avenue from McNaughton Avenue to Thames Street and widening Victoria Avenue at the McNaughton Avenue and Grand Avenue intersections to allow for dedicated left-turn lanes.
Back in 2020, residents along the street tied orange ribbons on their trees to express their displeasure with the proposed reconstruction plan, which also included a roundabout and multi-purpose trails.
Many residents worried that the project would have required several of the mature trees to be cut down.
"The bike lanes were acceptable but the initial plan of the multi-purpose path was not," said Bondy. "What people are happy about now, is that the sewer reconstruction is on hold. The consensus is that in five years, maybe there will be better technology to help save the trees. It also gives us five more years to mature the tree."
Bondy said some mature trees pose safety concerns and need to be dealt with properly, but the municipality's overall decision should be seen as a win for those concerned.
"People are very happy with the news," said Bondy.