City of Brockville Tree Maintenance – Which trees are addressed? When and Where?

Brockville – The City of Brockville maintains 276.86 lane kilometres of roadways. To put that distance into perspective, it is 266 km from Brockville to Bowmanville, Ontario. On average, there is one tree per 100 meters. That’s 2,760 roadside trees that our Parks division is responsible for maintaining, in addition to the trees in our parks and green spaces.

Annually, staff assess the city’s tree canopy and prioritize different trees or sections of trees within the city with the highest-risk trees being removed first.

Prior to the emerald ash borer (EBA) hitting the City, priority tree work was performed by third-party contractors, with approximately 35-45 trees removed per year, while our Parks staff addressed additional de-limbing, pruning and tree maintenance. With the EBA hitting hard years ago, this required increased attention to the city’s tree canopy. In 2023, City Council approved the hiring of an ISA Certified Arborist to execute our tree maintenance program, this allows the city to address the priority trees faster.

In the last 27 weeks of 2023, following the increased budget approved by Council, City staff and equipment completed the following:

• (85) Ash trees removed, in order of priority
• (23) Hazardous trees of other species removed (Norway Maple etc.)
• (35) Trims of trees and limbs that posed hazards to property
• Multiple days of storm-related damage cleanup

Progress is being made and public safety is our number one priority. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we prioritize tree concerns. If you have concerns about a tree in your area, please contact the city’s Parks Department.