Queen Elizabeth Park's rotting Lombardy Poplars are coming down
By Nelson Daily Staff
Rotting Lombardy Poplars that have been a mainstay at Queen Elizabeth Park in Fairview are coming down — as early as next week, according to City of Nelson Public Works Supervisor Karen MacDonald.
“. . . they’ve got to go — they’re rotting from the inside,” MacDonald said in a City of Nelson media release.
“They’re increasingly unstable and their big roots are tearing up the asphalt that runs along the park’s border and the adjacent alley.”
Queen Elizabeth Park has been the home for Nelson Minor Baseball Assocation for years as well as being used on a limited basis by Nelson Mixed Slopitch.
The Lombardy Poplars have saved many a resident’s house in 400 Block of Fourth Street from drifting foul balls from games at Queen Elizabeth Park ball diamond.
But now the trees, many that have reached heights of 80 feet, are becoming a hazard. Which has prompts the City staff to take drastic actions.
“Nelson’s trees make up such an important part of the city’s character,” said Nelson Mayor Deb Kozak.
“But overall, our entire urban forest is in decline. Over the next few decades, we’ll have to replace a lot of trees. Many of them start to fail, and become quite unsafe.”
MacDonald says City crews will meticulously begin falling the monstrous poplars next week — a job estimated to take roughly ten days.
However, as soon as the trees come down, crews will begin planting fast growing Columnar Oaks to adhere to the City’s Tree Management Plan to plant two trees for every tree removed.
Columnar Oaks grows as high as 70 feet tall.
“That’s why we created the Tree Management Plan, to protect and conserve the City’s trees,” said Mayor Kozak, adding Nelson has approximately 30,000 trees in its parks, other City-owned properties and private properties.
“To manage the removal of the trees that have to go, and to steward the on-going renewal of the City’s tremendous treed character.”
