Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue residents shocked at trees felled for REM site

Residents in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue weren't expecting to see part of a forest on Ste-Marie Road, home to deer and other wildlife, razed and replaced by piles of rubble and construction materials.

The work is being donein preparation for theRseau express mtropolitain (REM) station to be built there.

Riding her bike through the woods earlier this week, Alison Hackney stopped dead in her tracks, shocked to find that so many treeshad been cut down.

"I ride on this road fairly often, and I noticed that the area cleared was a lot bigger, a lot more extensive, and everything has been flattened and denuded," said Hackney, who is a member of the Trainsparence coalition, a group opposed to the REM.

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Mayor Paola Hawa was just as surprised when she saw the area. When she saw the maps submitted by CDPQ Infra, the conglomerate building the REM, she had pictured a smaller area being cleared.

"It's quite obvious when you're used to seeing big green space, trees and an area for deer to go feed, especially in the winter, and you see the state that it is now, it is a shock to the senses," said Hawa.

Trees to be replaced

The area was cleared of shrubs and trees in order to install underground pipesfor the future station, said CDPQ in a statement.

The developer explained everything possible is being done to mitigate any environmental impact the project might have.

At the Sainte-Anne site, they have cut down 67 trees in total 17 of which were dead. In order to compensate for the overall project, the CDPQsaid, it will be planting 250,000 trees across Montreal. In addition to that, any trees cut down on a construction site will be replaced, it said, and an additional 10 per cent will be planted.

Virginie Cousineau, a spokesperson for the REM, said ithas stuck to the plans it submitted to the city when itgot the permit to do the work.

"We actuallyreduced the footprint to make sure we had the least impact possible on this specific area," said Cousineau.