Ontario transit agency to cut down thousands of Toronto trees for new subway line

To make way for public transit, often a few trees must fall. In the case of one forthcoming Toronto subway line, the number is 2,787.

Led by Ontario transit agency Metrolinx, the planned 15.6-kilometre line will run from Toronto’s Exhibition Place to the Ontario Science Centre through the heavily wooded Don Valley. The loss of trees in three key areas of the valley to make way for construction is a concern for environmental activists and local residents, who fear the valley will suffer long-term environmental damage.

“I am very disappointed by the news that Metrolinx is cutting thousands of trees in Don Valley,” said Haseeb Bekzad, a longtime resident who enjoys the slice of nature on his regular walks. “It is bad for the environment. It will be very hard and sad for me to see trees I saw many times will be removed and disappeared.”

Bekzad urged the provincial government to find alternative ways of expanding the subway line without damaging the environment.

Whenever possible, naturalized spaces like the Don Valley Ravine should be protected, not treated as “sacrifice zones,” said Phil Pothen, Ontario environment program manager with Environmental Defence. “(Trees) provide vital ecosystem services, and they are vital natural park space for people who live in cities.”

Metrolinx said in a statement provided to Canada’s National Observer that the trees must come down to bring much-needed subway service to communities like Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park, which are underserved by transit.

“The Ontario Line will see almost 400,000 passengers every day, reduce crowding on existing buses, streetcars, and subways, and put nearly 50,000 more jobs within easy reach of transit.”

Metrolinx says it strives to minimize construction footprints and impacts on green spaces when building new transit.

“When trees do need to come down, we plant one to 50 new trees based on the size and location of the tree being removed. On average, our practice is to plant at least three trees for every single tree removed as we build new transit across the region,” the statement reads.

Of the 2,787 trees being cut in the Don Valley, 456 are invasive and 229 are pest- or disease-prone, the statement added.

Metrolinx says it is working with conservation authorities and the City of Toronto to find areas that can support dense tree and vegetation cover.

“Our plans are informed by local environmental guidelines and ravine strategies, using trees and shrubs that are native to each area,” the statement reads. Metrolinx said it is working with city staff to restore the area to help prevent flooding, manage the growth of invasive plants and trees, promote the growth of native trees, restore wetlands and close gaps within the trail system.

Pothen said in the future, it would be better to build and prevent leapfrog development to minimize the number of ravines and wetlands caught between patches of suburb or city.

“It underlines just how absurd it is for governments to suggest that we can surround ravines with development and expect them to remain fully functional habitat or even remain wild at all,” he said.

He said it is reasonable for people to demand evidence showing there was no way to complete the transit project without chopping the trees down or causing even greater environmental damage.

“It may well turn out to be true that removing and replanting these trees really is the least environmentally harmful way to deliver this much-needed transit, but Metrolinx has done such a poor job so far of showing ... this is the case that it seems to be trying to provoke outrage.”

This story was produced in partnership with Journalists for Human Rights for the Afghan Journalists-in-Residence program funded by the Meta Journalism Project.