Winnipeggers upset after decorated trees destroyed

WINNIPEG — Residents of Polar Bear Lane, who carefully spruced up their mature boulevard trees with lights and decorations, were shocked to see two of them badly damaged by snow-clearing equipment this week, leaving gaps in the festive display.

Early Thursday, two of the well-decorated mature trees were badly damaged, which led them to be reduced to stumps a few hours later.

“A contracted grader came down our street and (hit) two trees. He took one down completely. These trees are about 30 feet high. They’re city boulevard trees. That’s where we put our lights on for Christmas,” said Peter Doerksen, a resident of the street officially known as Hennessey Drive.

Doerksen said one tree was an obvious loss, while another lost large branches. City of Winnipeg forestry staff removed both on Thursday morning due to the damage.

“Just to knock down two trees, is just mind-boggling,” said Doerksen.

For years, residents of the Linden Woods route have shared their holiday spirit by attaching large Polar Bear cutouts and lights to the trees, making the damage so close to Christmas Day especially frustrating.

“We put up these bears for the season and for them to knock these trees down is just so ridiculous. It just bugs me,” said Doerksen.

His wife, Rose Doerksen, echoed the concern.

“It’s just frustrating because we spend a lot of money on trees and the bears and … that’s all out of pocket from every homeowner,” she said.

The City of Winnipeg confirmed that snow-clearing equipment damaged the trees, leading to the removals. A spokeswoman said tree damage happens every year.

“Conflicts between trees and snow/ice equipment occur every season, but the amount of damage varies,” said Julie Horbal Dooley, in an email. “We recover costs associated with damaged trees and use this to fund replanting trees. Replanting occurs either in the same location or nearby, depending on available space.”

Horbal Dooley said the city tracks overall damage to trees caused by snowplows, vehicles, and vandalism in one category but doesn’t count snowplow-related damage alone. She said the city received 38 reports of overall damage to 311 between Nov. 1, 2023 and March 30, 2024. Another 14 reports have been filed since Nov. 1, 2024.

Other residents have also voiced concern over the tree damage.

Debbie Ristimaki said a snow-clearing machine broke multiple branches on her front yard tree in 2022, leading her to later prune off lower branches as a protective measure.

“We’re situated in a spot where they seem to think they can just take the buckets, accumulate all the snow and dump it in our yard. And they’ve started again now … They come right up the driveway and dump against the tree,” the Bridgwater Forest resident said.

Since her tree recovered, she didn’t file a claim with the city. But Ristimaki said the incident leads her to question why the city has committed to planting more trees without better protecting existing ones.

“The part that irks me is … when we talk about planting a million trees, we don’t take care of the trees that we (already) have,” she said.

Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), whose ward includes Polar Bear Lane, said tree damage during snow clearing takes place “once in a while.”

“It does happen and (the trees) will be replaced and it will be at the contractors’ expense,” said Orlikow. “We’ll clean it up. It’s too bad, absolutely. It’s unfortunate for me any time a tree goes down.”

“We are a winter city, it does happen,” he said.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of council’s public works committee, said the loss of two decades-old trees is especially concerning.

“That is unacceptable, what happened there. There were two trees that were taken out … The size of it (raises) extra concern,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

She wants the city to investigate the circumstances that led up to the damage, which she said happened in an area plowed by a private contractor.

Lukes said trees are more often surrounded and partly buried by snow than severely damaged, though residents reported another tree and stop sign were knocked over by snow-clearing equipment this week near Breckenridge Close.

“It is inevitable when we’re moving volumes of snow (with) the weight of the snow and the ice … that there will be some damage,” she said.

Lukes noted some snow storage in private yards is expected, since the city owns the land next to the street, in part to use it for that purpose. She urged anyone who discovers tree damage following snow clearing to report it to 311.

» Winnipeg Free Press