Stanley Park tree removal project to be ramped up and finished by March, say park board

The Vancouver Park Board is speeding up its tree removal project to mitigate risks to public safety, after a particularly tempestuous autumn further damaged dead and dying trees in Stanley Park.

At a meeting Monday evening, the park board approved a plan to quickly remove hazardous trees in high priority areas, including sections along Stanley Park Drive, North Lagoon Drive, and the remaining areas along the seawall from Siwash Rock to Second Beach.

Initially scheduled for treatment in the fall of next year as part of the project’s third and final phase, the areas are now planned to be completed before the bird nesting season in March.

“We are committed to ensuring the safety of all park visitors while minimizing disruptions,” said the park board’s chair Brennan Bastyovanszky in a release issued Tuesday.

“We greatly appreciate the public’s patience as we continue to manage this complex situation and work towards restoring the park’s ecological health.”

In December last year the park board set in motion its plan to cull the 160,000 trees that were deemed dead or dying as a result of a looper moth infestation in Stanley Park.

Around 7,000 trees, making up twenty-five per cent of the park’s greenery, were axed during the first phase, while another 11 per cent was targeted during the plan’s second phase in October.

The trees already weakened by the moth infestation were killed off when they were subject to the heavy storms and an intense ‘bomb cyclone’ that hit Vancouver in October and November this year.

“These failures make it clear that trees affected by the hemlock looper outbreak are deteriorating more rapidly than expected,” said the park board.

Ramping up the project will ensure the trails, currently closed off to protect the public from the risks associated with the dead trees, will open much sooner, it added.

“The advancement of this work will help maintain access to key areas of the park, avoid extended closures, and improve safety for both visitors and staff,” it said.

The schedule for the remainder of the project and the impacts it will have on traffic in Stanley Park will be shared in January 2025.