A strain of ornamental pear tree planted in three St. Albert neighbourhoods could soon be replaced after a report compiled by a councillor showed support among residents for getting rid of them.
Coun. Cam MacKay spent part of the summer surveying residents of Evans Place, Paquette Place and Duncan Court, where the ornamental pear trees have been planted. While the trees look beautiful in the spring, according to residents, they soon start dropping their inedible fruits all over the sidewalks.
“I realize some people think this is trivial, but as I’ve outlined, it’s serious,” MacKay said.
Other concerns expressed by residents include safety risks posed by both the fruit and the trees themselves. The trees, which have grown larger over the years, are dropping more fruit on the ground, putting individuals at risk of being hit by a pear or slipping on one that has already fallen. Squished fruit leaves stains on the sidewalks that are almost impossible to remove. The fruits can also dent vehicles, attract wasps and other insects and are invitations to vandalism. Furthermore, the odour caused by the squished pears, according to one resident, “smells like we are fermenting hooch on our street.”
“It seems like a small issue but if you live next to it, it’s important to you,” MacKay said.
Bylaws prevent residents from pruning trees on public land, meaning the responsibility falls to public works, which can’t always get around to pruning them regularly. Furthermore, the branches have very large thorns, which have led to incidences in which people have needed stitches in their foreheads or have been cut elsewhere.
Of the three neighbourhoods surveyed, MacKay reported overwhelming support for replacing the trees with a different breed in Evans Place and Duncan Court, yet only 65 per cent of residents in Paquette Place supported removing them. Other proposed solutions include providing extra organics composting bins to residents to dispose of the fruit, or leaving the situation as is.
“My preferred outcome would be to replace them,” said MacKay. “Over the long run, it will save some time for public works and make everyone happy.”
Some members of council seemed to be in favour of MacKay’s proposed fix. Coun. Cathy Heron, who researched the tree on the Internet, found it had a life span of 25 years, which, if the trees were planted 20 years ago when all three neighbourhoods were developed, means they would be close to the end of their life spans.
“I am never in favour of cutting down a tree without a reason,” Heron said. “But if they’ve been in place for 20 years already, they need to be replaced.”
Council voted to accept the report as information. MacKay said he will bring forward a motion to deal with the trees during budget deliberations.
