Trees cut down at Ridgeway square cause ‘loss and devastation’

Several trees being unexpectedly cut down on town property in downtown Ridgeway is drawing questions and concerns from the local community.

Ridgeway Village Square, a town-owned gathering spot that includes a splashpad and pavilion, was built about 12 years ago and is a frequently used spot during the warm weather months.

But on May 13, about a dozen trees on the small property were cut down to their stumps.

Lisa Kelleher, owner of Crescent Gardens Florist on Ridge Road, told Fort Erie Radio in an interview that she was saddened by what she witnessed from the window of her shop.

“My heart was so broken that I couldn’t even watch them doing it,” she said.

Kelleher said now is the time of year that trees of that size are usually home to nesting birds.

“They were reaching beautiful, full maturity,” she said, adding that another concern is that the shade they provided to splashpad users will no longer be there.

And it seems people and businesses in the area weren’t aware this would be happening.

“Nobody was really prepared for it at all,” said Kelleher.

Ward 4 Councillor Joan Christensen said she hopes to meet with staff this week to get answers, but has already been informed that the trees were not spaced properly and that they were growing faster than expected when planted 12 years ago.

As a result, they were “negatively impacting each other,” she said.

Christensen said she’s been stopped on the street and received multiple emails about the matter from people concerned about the “loss and devastation” from the incident.

She hopes a solution can be arrived at to replace the trees with more greenery at the site.

“That’s what I need to find out about,” she said.

Fort Erie Radio learned about the incident over the long weekend and reached out to town communications staff on Tuesday, as well as on Wednesday, through email.

A response was given that answers to specific questions were being gathered, but no further correspondence was received by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

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