Trees chopped down in downtown's Ivey Park to make way for sewer work

Londoners who frequent Ivey Park at the Forks of the Thames were surprised when they came for their daily walks to find more than 100 trees chopped down by the city.

The city had to chop down 66 large trees, 39 small trees, and a hedge, said Ashley Rammeloo, London's director of sewers.

"We never like to take down trees, but we'll be replacing them," Rammeloo said. "We're bringing in seven large calibre trees that are the largest ones we can actually plant, so that's something that's above and beyond what we normally do for construction projects."

The trees were cut down because the sewer that runs underneath the Thames River and provides sanitary service for downtown has to be replaced. It was constructed in 1935 and has come to the end of its useful life, Rammalloo said.

"It's critical that we replace it before we have failure. On top of that, with all the growth we're seeing in the downtown, we also need more capacity, so we're making it bigger as well," she said.

Londoner Teresa Westwood walks through Ivey Park nearly every day. She said it was an "unpleasant surprise" to see so many trees gone.

"It's tough because the city is growing and if you don't do the development you suffer later," she said. "I understand why they had to do it but that doesn't mean it wasn't a shock. The impact was unbelievable."

John Hassan is a retired Londoner who also walks through the park daily. "London goes above and beyond to save as many trees as possible," he said. "It's not like these were super old-growth trees. Trees always come back, and if it wasn't necessary, the city wouldn't do it."

Londoners should do themselves a favour and walk through the downtown and along the river, Hassan said. "Leave your car at home and walk down here. It's not as appealing this time of year, but it's something everyone should do."

The downtown sewer capacity expansion project includes the replacement of the existing sanitary sewer siphon at the forks of the Thames.