All eight trees on the east side of Canning St will be cut down over the weekend, with council flagging them a hazard for pedestrians accessing medical services.
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Council says the decision comes after community consultation with those who live and work on the street. However, one resident said he was unaware of the proposal and only noticed the white crosses marking the trees within the last few days.
The short notice of council's public announcement may feel familiar to locals who felt sidelined after trees were removed from Gipps St in 2015, apparently without consultation.
While the tree removals are scheduled for June 23 and 24, the replacement of the footpath will be stalled until later this year, pending the budget considerations of council's next meeting.
Brian Richards was on the footpath this week and said the trees were too big for the street.
"Bigger trees cost more to maintain and their roots bust up the sidewalk," he said. "It would be wiser to have shrubs here instead."
Fran Holland uses the footpath to visit her doctor, and agreed the footpath posed a trip risk.
"You have to be careful because a lot of elderly people have poor mobility and poor eyesight. It's a problem, but it's also a shame because they are very established trees.
“I wouldn’t mind if they replaced them with something useful like benches. It would be nice to have a spot to wait for the doctor outside.”
Council says it will plant 10 new trees after the renewal of the footpath is complete.
Potential replacement species are the Chinese pistachio or the blueberry ash. Council is open to other species suggestions, provided they are suitable for the area.
