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Dear Ms. Nantais,

I have recently been made aware of the possible removal of select elm trees along the Kippen/Clinton portion of Hwy #4.

Although I live in Edmonton, Alberta, I grew up along that stretch of highway, in fact just 500m or so from the tree that was pictured in a recent London Free Press article. It is a very prominent tree and one that I recognized immediately, mainly due to its uniqueness and solitary beauty.

As noted in the article, Dutch Elm disease has made the sight of the majestic elm in Ontario rarer. It would be truly sad to have surviving trees destroyed by man under the guise of safety.

The real risk reduction from the removal of these five trees along this 15 km of straight highway is minimal - or, if it is in fact significant, please make the risk assessment figures public.

More than likely, the ditch work slated for this area is the primary driver - this then initiated the call to remove the trees and put it under the banner of safety (as a former capital works and engineering manager for a major global petroleum company, I have seen that tactic many times).

It would be extremely sad to have these trees removed for the minimal increase in safety that it might bring. Tree canopies over highways in Ontario are not rare and it is hard to believe that a few trees along a dozen or so kilometers of straight highway would present that much danger in terms of icing.

As Joni Mitchell once sang 'they paved paradise and put in a parking lot'. It has probably taken over 100 years for those trees to attain their existing form, but unfortunately it only takes 5 minutes to cut them down, never to be reversed (note that the removal of large trees is also a considerable safety hazard even when done by professionals).

I would ask you to reconsider the fate of all the elms and ask the civil engineers to relook at those specific grading areas as to alternatives. After living in Western Canada for the past 30 years, I have seen what the unrestricted removal of trees have done to the landscape - and appreciate much more what the elm tree represents in southern Ontario.

Regards,

Ted Oud, P. Eng (AB)

Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta

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Sunday, March 20, 2011