Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Tree request results in stress

A simple request for permission to remove a dangerous tree located on Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure right-of-way has led to an ordeal for a Salt Spring woman.

Ministry staff finally approved the tree removal for Tuesday, but LePage Road resident Susan Cox feels she was ignored for many weeks and then punished for her request, as she was ordered to move a fence after the tree is felled.

“I don’t feel like I deserved three months of no conversation and when I do have conversation it’s petty and I’m left feeling I did something wrong,” Cox said. “I did not do anything wrong.”

Last fall Cox decided she needed to take down two dangerous trees that were were riddled with fist-sized woodpecker holes. When contractor Gord Lee arrived to do the work, he informed her one of the trees was actually located over her property line and that permission from the ministry would be needed. Lee trimmed the tree that did belong to Cox, but could not take it down on its own because it was holding up the other tree.

Cox said several calls to the ministry’s local agent Mainroad Contracting in November achieved no response.

With January’s storms, Cox felt the situation was getting too risky and she visited the Mainroad office in person.

“This has not been a bad winter, compared to last winter, but the tree is still just 25 feet from my house,” she said.

“In all of this, all I wanted was permission to take down one dangerous tree,” Cox said. “I feel like they threatened me after I got upset: ‘If we take down your tree you have to move your fence.’”

In response to a request for more information from the Driftwood, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said it “will continue to work with the property owner on the relocation of the fence at a reasonable time when the weather has improved this spring.”

For more on this story, see the Feb. 28, 2018 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Sign up for our newsletter and stay informed

Receive news headlines every week with our free email newsletter.

Other stories you might like

RCMP asks for help with wanted person 

Police on Salt Spring Island are seeking help from the public in locating a person wanted for several alleged offences. 

Editorial: Supporting cyclists means infrastructure improvement

It seems in our nature to look for increasingly simple solutions as the problems we face become increasingly complex.  Cycling on Salt Spring is already...

Pender connector road set for repair

A damaged section of roadway on South Pender Island that has languished since the heavy rain and flooding in November of 2021 is finally...

Drivers adjust to lower Ganges speed limit

Despite arriving several weeks later than planned, new traffic signs designating lower speeds through Ganges village still managed to catch a few drivers and...

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Weather

Salt Spring Island
broken clouds
8.3 ° C
9.8 °
6.6 °
71 %
11.3kmh
75 %
Fri
8 °
Sat
8 °
Sun
10 °
Mon
10 °
Tue
10 °