More than 60 trees in Invercargill's Town Belt are coming down starting next week, some of them planted 150 years ago.
Councillors made the call last year after a 25-metre pine tree blew onto Elles Rd traffic during October's extreme winds. Nobody was hurt. They won't count on that luck twice.
The felling targets 27 large macrocarpa trees on Elles Rd and 12 of similar size at Ōtākaro Park on the corner of Queens Dr and Don St, with work on the Queens Drive trees beginning Monday July 27. The Elles Rd block follows in the first two weeks of August.
"These are massive trees that could cause serious damage the next time we have a strong wind event," a council spokesperson said. "We're incredibly lucky no one was injured in the storm last October. It's our responsibility as elected members to take action to keep the community safe, and that's what we're doing."
The operation will require temporary road closures and traffic management on Queens Drive, Elles Road and Tay Street. Pedestrian and cycling paths in the affected areas will close while work is underway.
"This will be a highly skilled operation with stringent safety measures in place, including an exclusion zone around the work area. We know there will be some unavoidable disruption. We really appreciate the community's patience and understanding while we get the job done."
Council manager parks and recreation Caroline Rain said some of the trees were believed to date from the Town Belt's earliest plantings in the 1870s. Their loss wasn't treated as routine.
"When the original city gardeners planted these trees 150 years ago, they couldn't have imagined the modern city that would grow up around them," Rain said. "Now, guided by our Tree Plan, we can replant the space in a way that ensures the right trees are put in the most appropriate place, where they won't become problematic for future generations."
The project is estimated to cost around $500,000, though timber suitable for milling could offset some of that.
After removal, a landscape plan will be drawn up for the Elles Rd block. The design will incorporate the Reconnecting Communities sculpture, donated by the Invercargill Public Art Trail Charitable Trust and not yet built.
"With the landscaping, we aim to rejuvenate the space and ensure it remains a valuable and much-loved part of Invercargill's Town Belt," Rain said.