Gage Park trees cut to stop vandals
Danielle Wong
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...o-stop-vandals
It wasn’t disease or damage that felled a stand of historic beech trees near the Gage Park fountain, but vandalism. Except it weren’t vandals wielding the chainsaws, but city crews.
Safety concerns prompted local officials to make the decision two years ago, and the ring of trees on the west side of the fountain finally came down Thursday. But one of the candidates running for council in the east-end Ward 3 says there should have been more widespread notification before the axe fell.
“We’re talking about a two-year-old decision. Even if it was announced two years ago we need to have a refresher,” said Paul Tetley, who issued a press release calling the move a “Gage Park chainsaw massacre.”
The decision was made in 2008 upon recommendations of police and the city’s horticultural staff as part of the Gage Park Master Plan, mainly for public health and safety concerns over a “rash of vandalism ongoing over the past few years,” forestry superintendent John Taylor said.
“There have been some incidents around the fountain constantly being vandalized just because you can’t see it from anywhere,” he said, adding the hedge was becoming too large and not manageable.
The city will replace the trees with a new hedge, most likely beech again, maintained at a manageable height for city staff once the Gage Park fountain’s renovation project is completed by spring 2012, Taylor said. He couldn’t say exactly how many trees were felled, but there are about 20 stumps remaining around the fountain.
Joanne Avarello, 65, immigrated to Hamilton from Italy in 1955 and remembers when Gage Park was the place to go on a Sunday afternoon.
Avarello is upset with the graffiti on the walls along the steps leading to the fountain and even on the signs on the fence around the fountain, but people will vandalize “without or without trees,” she said.
“I don’t think cutting these trees is going to stop people from writing on the wall,” Avarello said, sitting on a bench facing the fountain. “To cut these beautiful trees to stop this, I don’t think it’ll work.”
Neighbours and frequent visitors of Gage Park indicated some mixed feelings about the city cutting down the stand of beech trees.
While they would prefer nature to be left alone in the park, they feel vandalism and public safety has been a growing concern over recent years.
“I’m ambivalent. I see both sides,” Matthew Marchis said as he watched his daughters play in the park. “We’re having more vandalism here more … so if it’s going to help I’m more on the side of deterring that. Yeah, I hate to see losing any type of trees or nature … If it’s going to help, great. But if it’s not, then we just lost a few good trees that have been here a long time.”
Councillor Bernie Morelli said numerous meetings were held about the trees and the Friends of Gage Park was consulted as well. “Clearly, all of us love that park so much that sometimes there’s some short-term pain for some long-term gain,” he said.
Cory Leet, 30, said he was glad the trees are gone. “You can see the fountain from the street … Over there (vandalism) is where it’s concentrated the most,” he said. “(Police) will be able to see right in there. You won’t be able to hide in there.”
Chloe Ghose, who spent Saturday afternoon removing graffiti from the steps area in front of the fountain with a new product she’s hoping to sell, said the issue was broader.
The city needs to provide facilities such as a pool for young people to have something positive to do in the area instead, she said. “I think they have to start doing something for the residents … to really take pride and care about (the park).”