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Problems with messy trees continued to dominate the list of complaints heard from Park Extension residents during this month’s borough council meeting. However, other issues that came up included the possibility that the PDQ 31 police station at Jarry Park will be growing larger because of a planned extension project into an adjacent parking lot. There was also a revealing glimpse of the lengths to which the borough’s sanitation inspectors will sometimes go to track down and ticket people who violate the garbage disposal regulations.
Leaky trees
After informing the borough council that she and others on her street received leaflets in their recycling bins with out-of-date recycling and garbage pickup schedules, Linda Mastrocola brought up another issue that has been preoccupying many people in Park Extension lately ― leaky trees. “Where I am, I’ve got a tree on each side of my property and they give off a lot of sap,” she said. “As a result, the balcony’s very sticky. And I noticed, however, that the city has not been around to even trim the trees. Do you have anything planned for that at all?”
The borough is getting a significant number of complaints about many of its trees planted in the front setback area on properties. They are apparently infested with a type of parasite that excretes large volumes of sticky liquid, making life miserable for residents who have to cope with the ensuing mess. Because the method of treatment that’s been used so far is potentially toxic to the trees if applied too frequently, the borough is faced with a dilemma. Park Extension city councillor Mary Deros said the borough has no plan for dealing with the problem this year. She called on Public Works Director Michel Laflamme to explain.
‘Drastic’ solution possible
“It’s an extremely difficult problem to fix,” he said. “There’s no doubt it’s easy to fix if we use chemicals, but getting the City of Montreal’s assent is another matter. First of all, according to the rules we’re no longer allowed to use it. But we’re trying to find out through the Botanical Gardens if there might be some other way that's more organic. At a certain point, I may make a decision that’s more drastic. There are some problems that are more serious than that, although I don’t think we can continue with things getting like that.”
One thing that’s certain, according to Laflamme, is that the borough will never plant that type of tree again which causes so many problems for residents and the borough. Another house owner complained right after Mastrocola that he’s at wit’s end trying to cope with the mess and damage caused to his property by the trees. Mayor Anie Samson promised to send a public works employee to investigate. “They cannot cut the tree, but they can trim it and they will check what they can do,” she said.
PDQ 31 expansion
During the same meeting, members of the Coalition des Amis du Parc Jarry said residents living near the park are concerned by news that PDQ 31 is supposed to be undergoing an enlargement, which might encroach on land in the park itself. There is also concern about a possible expansion of Tennis Canada’s stadium in the park. Borough Mayor Anie Samson told them that the PDQ construction would take place in the police station’s parking lot and wouldn’t affect land elsewhere in the park. She said Tennis Canada hadn’t yet deposited its plans with the borough, and so she couldn’t comment.
Also during the meeting, Benoît Lacroix, director the borough’s urban planning department which oversees the enforcement of garbage disposal regulations, confirmed to a Park Extension resident that the borough’s sanitation inspectors verify trash that’s been illegally dumped to see if there is any evidence of the litterbug’s identity. “If the inspector proceeds with a search and he is able to identify the offender thanks to a proof ― a bill, a letter, etc. ― we will forward the dossier to the municipal court as a notice of infraction and the citizens is contacted by the city’s prosecutors by being issued a summons,” he said.