City takes over power-line tree pruning
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B.C. Hydro is handing over the job of pruning trees to City of Victoria staff.
Until now, the utility company has been in charge of caring for trees encroaching on power lines leaving city staff to deal with the rest.
The split duty led to many inefficiencies.
"In the past, it was not unusual for two different crews to work on the same tree at two different times," said the city's parks department in a press release.
City crews will now do all the maintenance and inspections for 20,000 trees along boulevards.
B.C. Hydro will fund half of the $800,000 job, according to the five-year agreement.
"We are able to do this with Victoria because they have a complement of qualified staff who can work safely and properly in proximity to power lines," said Ted Olynyk, B.C. Hydro's manager of community relations for Vancouver Island.
The agreement with the municipality marks the first of its kind in the province.
Victoria manages 40,000 trees in parks and boulevards. Many are reaching the end of their life cycle. In the fall, parks staff will present its plan, called the Urban Forest Master Plan, to manage the aging trees and plant new ones.
editor@vicnews.com
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