The City of White Rock has apologized after it cut down an empress tree while renovating Memorial Park.
“We are sorry,” the statement from the city reads, which was tweeted Thursday morning. “We tried our best to save the Paulownia tomentosa (empress tree) in Memorial Park.”
According to the statement, city officials thought they could work around the tree, but the shallow roots extended further to the downhill side of the tree than expected.
“What we learned from arborists once the roots were exposed, is that the tree did not have strong deep roots. Instead, the shallow roots extended downhill near the ground surface making relocation impossible and making the tree vulnerable to disturbance,” it says.
“Consideration was given to redesigning retaining walls around the tree; however, arborists expressed concern that this would still affect the long term viability of the tree,” the statement says.
The city says the decision to remove the tree was not an easy one, and that “we do acknowledge how difficult and emotional this news may be for some in the community.”
The city says that the tree will be replaced.
The apology comes just days after city residents expressed outrage from learning that trees which lined both sides of Johnston Road were cut early Sunday morning.
Last year, the city awarded a $4,508,490 contract for upgrades to Memorial Park, which will provide new washrooms, a children’s water-spray pad and a wider promenade.
Statement: We are sorry. We tried our best to save Empress Tree in Memorial Park. Originally believed we could work around it, unfortunately, its large shallow roots extended further than expected. Decision to remove the tree, this morning, was not easy. https://t.co/TkHmxTWjPk pic.twitter.com/hKgXRs0KE2
— City of White Rock (@whiterockcity) March 1, 2018
