Trees lining the lower north shore route of the B-Line bus service set to get the chop

RESIDENTS along the planned lower north shore route of the new B-Line bus service say their area will be ‘denuded’ as about 30 screening trees are set to be destroyed.

One of the trees that may be destroyed for the new B-Line bus route.

• ‘Don’t move our bus stop’
• Premier told to keep hands off garden

ABOUT thirty trees could be chopped down to make way for a new bus route.

The B-Line will ferry northern beaches commuters to the city via Spit and Military Rds.

Plans show that trees lining the route on the lower north shore will be sacrificed to make way for road widening, new turning lanes and bus bays.

The trees earmarked for removal are on both public and private land.

Local residents are growing increasingly concerned over the disruptions the B-Line bus will cause.

Landscaping vegetation along the roads will also be cut away at a number of locations.

The trees up for the chop include a tall gum tree close to the Bickell Rd intersection, a row of five mature trees north of Punch St and a group of eight street trees near Holt Ave.

The move has upset residents at No. 221 Military Rd as the garden in front of the block is earmarked for the construction plans. It will be almost sliced in half, losing about 11 trees residents say. This includes a mulberry about 10 metres tall.

An official B-Line report referred to these trees as “screening vegetation”.

The B-Line buses will run from the northern beaches to the CBD.

“The trees give us a lot of privacy and that’s going to be removed,” a resident said.

“They are going to denude this place.

“It’s going to be heartbreaking to see that many beautiful trees being sacrificed for a bus bay.”

A spokesman for Transport for NSW said no decision has been made on tree removal and that it was premature to suggest the number of trees affected.

“We are committed to planting more trees than we remove,” a spokesman said.

“We will do everything possible to save as many trees as we can, however, some trees will need to be removed.”

Residents in Cremorne put up this banner in protest at their garden being destroyed. The sign was replaced with a new one exchanging Mr Baird for new Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

He added that any trees removed on private property will be replaced to restore privacy.

The B-Line is scheduled to start operating towards the end of this year.

Written submissions for the B-Line project closed on Wednesday but the project team will continue to liaise with residents.

SIGN STOLEN

An updated sign urging Premier Gladys Berejiklian to keep her hands off a garden was stolen at the weekend.

The sign at No. 221 Military Rd was originally aimed at Mike Baird.

The owners of the sign found it dumped nearby and are planning to hang it higher up so it isn’t stolen again. Almost half the garden is earmarked for compulsory purchase.