Re: "Mass destruction of trees along city trails 'senseless,'" Letters, The Gazette, April 27.
I agree with the letter-writer that the City's decimation of treed areas in Erin Ridge is repulsive on every possible level. St. Albert needs to revise its tagline to "City of Botanical Hypocrites" to more accurately reflect the political direction. Anything less makes us the "City of Liars."
The City has sold out the river valley to developers and has continued with all of our ravines and beautifully treed areas, in which they levelled every tree over four inches in diameter. I wanted to take a picture, but it was honestly too heartbreaking. They are absolutely destroyed. It will take 30 to 50 years for them to not look emaciated.
All of my neighbours are very upset. They have reduced the property value of anyone backing onto a tree-covered area and obliterated the enjoyment for us and all of St. Albert. And they used my property taxes to do it. We were never asked for input nor were we even informed this would happen.
I know with 100-per-cent certainty that our elected officials were very aware of this and did nothing to stop it. It's that same political mindset that approved residential schools as "forward progress." If they ever release a statement on this destruction, it will be some unthinkable excuse likely to start with: "We initiated the tree management to prevent [insert indefensible reason here]."
Trees, and by definition forests, have been looking after themselves for a least two billion years. I'm pretty sure the City's parks department doesn't have a leg up on that.
Jennifer Kim, St. Albert
