West 29th Avenue in Vancouver is a tree-lined boulevard again.
On Monday, workers for the Vancouver Park Board began planting 17 new maple trees to replace the 17 that were cut down in an apparent act of vandalism earlier this month.
“The community is very upset by it,” Park Board chairman John Coupar told reporters at the planting site. “Our priority was to get on this very quickly, replace these trees, and send a very strong message that removal of trees or damage of trees will absolutely not be tolerated.”
The new trees came from the park board’s nursery in Langley, and were installed at a cost of roughly $10,000, a figure that includes the cost of removing the stumps of the old trees, preparing the soil, and transporting and planting the new trees.
Coupar said it’s “very rare” for the park board’s trees to be cut down illegally.
The Vancouver Police Department is investigating the incident, but so far no suspects have been identified.
“We’re looking forward to finding the perpetrator and for charges to come forward,” Coupar said.
He said there is a fine for cutting down trees owned by the park board, but he didn’t know how much it was off the top of his head. The board has said it will seek the maximum penalty for whoever cut down the trees.
Travis Warnyca, one of the workers helping to plant the trees on Monday said it’s unusual for his team to be called to remove so many stumps for the park board at once.
“These acts of vandalism are rare,” he said. “I mean, once in a while, you get a homeowner who doesn’t want a tree, but that’ll be one tree. I’ve never seen a whole block like this.”
