When a tree falls in Westmount…

It began innocently enough here in The Examiner back in October, when City Councillor George Bowser announced that Sunnyside Park would soon be getting a much-needed and long-overdue refurbishing. He pointed out that the area had been neglected for so long that it had become overgrown and unwelcoming. Someone even suggested renaming it ‘Shadyside Park’, he said.

The trees below had grown up and in many cases obscured the view of landmarks pointed out by indicators on the lookout. This means that many tourists—not to mention local taxpayers—have been disappointed when they visited the lookout and, attempting to locate some point of interest on the horizon, found that the indicator pointed “only to foliage,� as Mr. Bowser observed.

To help remedy this situation, and also to curb crime in the area, the City authorized the removal of many trees—a good number of which, they said, were diseased or had already died. Once this occurred, the outcry was loud and clear.

Calling the removal of trees a “chainsaw massacre,� one resident vented his outrage in The Examiner last week, calling on Mayor Marks to stop the desecration of Westmount’s green spaces. The Mayor responded by reiterating the City’s good intentions and even submitted a photo to illustrate how Sunnyside Park once looked and hopefully will look again.

This issue is certainly not peculiar to Westmount, but there are few neighbouring cities or boroughs where many residents would take the time to notice the felling of a single tree. Westmounters are fortunate to live in a community where aesthetic, environmental and heritage issues are actually given serious discussion in public.

There are probably thousands of local residents who could not care less if all of Westmount Park were to be covered in artificial turf and a strip mall were to go up beneath the Summit lookout, so we are fortunate to have a City administration that is vehemently committed to preserving green space.

At the same time, we should also be thankful for the vigilant residents who care enough about our environment to raise the alarm whenever necessary. Thanks to them, when a tree falls in Westmount, everyone hears it.