Additional information

Removal of trees is never our first choice, and we strive to reduce tree impacts as much as possible while balancing the need for safe and reliable infrastructure in our city.

During a project’s design, staff from the City of London’s engineering and forestry divisions, walk the street to evaluate each property, determine the current health of the trees, and determine how to best install services while minimizing impacts to trees and structures. 

After the arborist’s review is complete, any trees identified as impacted by construction or in poor health are removed before construction starts. There are many reasons why a tree may need to come down:

• The tree may already be in poor health;
• The infrastructure being added may disrupt the feeder root system in ways that aren’t necessarily apparent when looking at the tree above ground – sometimes the removal of curbs can be enough to disrupt the root zone and make it unsafe going forward.

When projects are completed, the City evaluates additional new tree planting opportunities on these streets. Each project is unique, and our approach to tree replacement is tailored to the context of the area we’re working with.  

The first three months of each year is a period when most tree removals across the city are completed, and that’s because we are working to complete this pre-construction work ahead of the migratory bird nesting period, which starts on April 1^st. In cases where tree removals continue later into the spring, bird experts are also then engaged before any removals take place.