Pressure mounts to save 19 trees that will be cut down in Officers' Square

A development that will force19 trees to be cut down at Officers' Square will continue as planned, Fredericton Mayor Mike O'Brien says.

But after a city council meeting Monday night,O'Briensaid he alsoplans toconsultwith staff to "dig deep" for a way to save some of the trees.

And time is running out.

• Officers' Square in Fredericton about to get $8.9M facelift

"Is there a way to save a couple trees? I can't promise that, but I know they'll be looking hard to see if there's an opportunity."

Theremoval coincides with aplannedrevitalization ofOfficers' Square in the next four years.Most of the trees that will be cut downarebesidethe wall along Officers' Square, andvary in age.

Before the council meeting, a crowd gathered on the steps of City Hall to voice concerns about losing the trees.

Irresponsible representation

Inside, frustrationcontinued to grow throughout the evening.

When council denied a motion to add an item to the agendawhich would have delayed work to the heritage site LilySmallwoodshouted from the upper level, "irresponsible representation" to the mayor and council.

Protesters wrap Officer's Square trees in blankets

6 years ago

Duration 0:53

A development that will force 19 trees to be cut down at Officers' Square will continue as planned, the mayor of Fredericton says.

At the same time, close to 100 other peopleerupted with anger, forcing the mayor and council to clear the chamber for several minutes.

"We weren't asking them to make a decision right now, we were asking them to talk about it," saidSmallwood, who attendedthe city council meetingwith her son, JamesGwathmey.

The publicwashoping council would reconsider its decision to cut down the 19 trees atOfficers' Square in comingmonths.

This was the second gathering of its kind from the public in just a few days.

Over the weekend, dozens of residents gathered in Officers' Square to protest against the city's plans to chop down the trees.

Not enough public consultation

At the meeting, Coun.Kate Rogers made the request to give city staffa chance to re-examine the construction plans andlook at ways to save the trees.

Rogerssaid not enough public consultation was done on the Officers' Squareproject.

If council agreedtohalt the project, she said, it would take staff only two or three weeks to consider alternative plans that could save the trees.

"To me it's our responsibility as elected officials to respond to the interests of our constituents," Rogers said to reporters after the meeting.

"There was clearly a desireamongstour constituency to have a further discussion on this."

O'Brien said he doesn't know what day the first tree is scheduled to come down, but said it will be soon.