Following receipt of an arborist report for the trees at a property along Braid Street, the City of Penticton will not be proceeding with the expansion of the Penticton Creek walkway on the affected section.
“The City places a high value on maintaining and preserving healthy trees, as protecting our natural environment is a vital part of retaining the character of Penticton,” says Mayor Julius Bloomfield. “Our default position is always preservation of healthy trees when possible whether on public or private land, and that’s the basis from which staff begin and that was the process followed here.”
As part of the restoration work along Penticton Creek, the City had hoped to widen the pathway to increase accessibility and safety. The work would have potentially impacted some of trees, which is why discussions with the homeowners were conducted and a review of the potential impact to the trees undertaken.
“We always assess and balance what is in the overall public interest when considering any changes to public infrastructure” says Kristen Dixon, the City’s general manager of infrastructure. “With the arborist assessment now in hand, combined with our thorough analysis of all the options and their corresponding public benefit, we have determined not to proceed with any changes to the path at this time.”
The City has demonstrated this commitment to maintaining its healthy tree canopy by taking actions to protect trees throughout the community, most recently along Westminster Avenue and Latimer Street. The City is also replanting the trees along Penticton Creek that needed to be removed in order to restore flood protection and naturalize the creek.
Recognizing the importance of the tree canopy to residents and the City’s climate action plan, the City will also initiate the development of an Urban Forest Management Plan shortly which will provide further opportunity for the public to provide input in to how we ensure Penticton maintains a healthy urban forest on both public and private lands.