Residents in the community connected by Regal Drive in north London, Ont. are expressing disappointment over an upcoming infrastructure project.



And it's not the needed upgrades they're unhappy with though, it's the removal of dozens of trees, along with the implementation of a new sidewalk along the south side of the street.

Regal Drive is in an area northwest of Highbury Avenue and Huron Street. The City of London will be digging up the street from Magnolia Crescent to Fuller Drive, including Regal Court, starting this spring to make way for new watermain services and a sidewalk.

But before the excavators roll in, more than two dozen trees are marked for removal.

City crews are cutting down 26 trees along Regal Drive in North London for infrastructure work starting this spring. “It’s sad, I’m gutted by what’s going on,” said a neighbour. <a href="https://t.co/ipZBYsWSgn">pic.twitter.com/ipZBYsWSgn</a> —@CBCLondon

"I was just shocked," said Teresa Daniele, a resident of the neighbourhood for about 15 years.

"Whenever you see a tree that might be marked as condemned, it's never a good sight, but then as I kept walking along the street, it was just horrifying to see how many had this distinctive white ring around it."

In total, more than one third of the trees that provide canopy in the area slated for construction will be removed. Originally, 16 large trees with a diameter over 30 centimetres and 10 smaller trees were slated for removal, but that number is now up to 33 trees.

Daniele first noticed the white lines painted around trees on Sunday. When she went for a walk the next night, she says city crews had already started the removal process, leaving stumps, timber and wood chips on lawns.

(Travis Dolynny/CBC)

"It's sad because I don't think I'll ever plan to take a walk on Regal now that this is taking place. I'm gutted by what's going on and it worries me for my own property," she said.

Daniele has sent an email to council, appealing for reconsideration on the tree removal.

According to a letter to residents from the city, the trees along the street were inspected to determine their condition, identify any conflicts with construction, and to develop a protection plan.

Residents along Regal Drive were given the chance to discuss the city's decisions at a project update meeting, which took place at the North London Optimist Community Centre on Feb. 19, 2019.

Unwanted sidewalks

Another issue with residents is the installation of a sidewalk along the south side of the street.

"That's probably the biggest bone of contention in the community because not too many people on our street, or any that I know of, want a [sidewalk]," said Jeff, a long-time resident on Regal Drive.

"We don't have any sidewalks now and no street lights and if you talk to people in the community, that's why everybody moved here, they like the quiet street and now it's kind of opening it up and people's access to their driveways is going to be shortened."

A resident on the south side of the street, who did not want to be named, said the sidewalk will take away about six feet from his front yard, or nearly a third of the property frontage.

"If you want to know what we think, we're not happy about it," he said.

Residents brought their concerns about the sidewalk to Ward 3 Councillor Mo Salih, who raised the issue at a council meeting on Mar. 5. He advocated for the removal of the sidewalk or to have it deferred to another time, but was unsuccessful.

In a letter to residents, Salih wrote, "there was no support for my request."

CBC News has reached out to Salih but has not heard back.

New trees to be planted

City officials say they will replant trees along Regal Drive following construction.

"Our forestry team will replant trees as soon as this project is done in all available spaces," said Paul Choma, a construction administration engineer with the City of London.

While there is no set date for the infrastructure work, the tentative start is marked for the spring, with completion expected in the fall.