A groundswell of opposition to the removal of trees along Grange Road in Saanich led to a change that will keep them standing.
Installation of a sewage pipe on the east side of the road was going to result in the loss of up to 49 trees, along with a tree archway. The route was chosen because it would make use of an existing trench, dug for a water main that is not used anymore.
But Elizabeth Scott, deputy project director of the Capital Regional District’s $765-million sewage-treatment plan — for which the pipe is required — said project officials have responded to residents’ concerns and chosen a route on the west side of Grange. That route doesn’t require any trees to be removed.
Using the west side for the pipe, part of a 19-kilometre line connecting the McLoughlin Point regional sewage-treatment plant to the Hartland Road landfill, will involve blasting and, initially, have a greater impact on the neighbourhood.
“We do our best to try to balance community impacts,” Scott said.
“In the original plan, we would have completed the work sooner and got out of the neighbourhood and avoided impacts to traffic, but we understand that people place a high value on their trees.
“We’re grateful of the fact that the residents of Grange Road and the side streets have acknowledged there’s impacts from big projects and that they are willing to accept the impacts of a longer construction period if it meant saving their trees. That’s what we’ve been able to do.”
Area resident Simon McVaugh-Smock said people are “extremely pleased” to hear the news about the sewage line.
“We’re thankful and very hopeful at this point,” he said.
“We definitely feel our work and efforts to this point have been worthwhile, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.”
While things are positive, residents will still be paying attention as the work unfolds, McVaugh-Smock said.
“We remain with the stance that we’ll be happy when the pipe is in the ground and the trees are still standing,” he said. “We’re impressed with the good faith shown by the CRD and we hope that they can demonstrate that in their practice.”
Construction on the Grange portion of the pipe is likely to start in January, along with other sections. An arbourist will be on site for the Grange Road work.
“We’ll carry on working hard to respond where we can,” Scott said.
Area residents drew media attention to the tree-cutting issue and hosted members of Saanich council in a visit to the neighbourhood on Saturday to explain the situation.
A group of people delivered a petition against cutting the trees with about 380 names to CRD headquarters on Wednesday.
