The trees that line Sixth St. became a hot-button issue this year as the town prepares to redesign the streetscape.
The new design for the street proposed by town staff went through two iterations before council settled on the current design, which will add one-way, separated cycling tracks to each side of the street. This design necessitates the removal of 36 trees on the boulevard on the north side of Sixth St., which raised the ire of residents wanting to protect tree canopy in town.
The 1.3-kilometre stretch of Sixth Street between Hurontario and High Streets is due for watermain replacement to improve water supply and pressure to the western side of Collingwood via the Stewart Road Pump Station, and while the town is making those necessary repairs, it has reconsidered the current design.
Project timelines will see the entire project completed by 2030 in a phased approach, with Hurontario to Oak Street expected in 2026 and Oak to High Street expected in 2027.
The first proposed design included a 1.5-metre sidewalk on the north side and a three-metre, two-way, multi-use bicycle and pedestrian track located on the south side of the road.
However, the proposal was criticized as unsafe by residents and the town's active transportation advisory committee because of the two-way bicycle track, prompting reconsideration of the design.
Town staff brought forward a new design in May to add one-way cycling tracks to each side of the street following opposition to the first design, but included the likely removal of 36 trees to make it work.
In June, resident Leslie Coutts started a petition to save the Sixth St. trees, which blew past 3,000 signatures. About three dozen residents marched along Sixth St. in protest of the tree removal on June 17.
On June 3, council approved a tree replacement plan in response to the information that the latest design would necessitate the removal of 36 trees, which would see two trees planted in town for every one cut down. Property owners on Sixth St. and on adjacent side streets will be offered free trees for their private yards.
In July, councillors voted down a motion to reconsider their course of action. All councillors received a report by certified arborist Alison Bond with Envision-Tatham which evaluated the state of 39 trees lining the north side of Sixth St, some on public and some on private land.
According to the report, only six of the trees that line the north side of Sixth St. are in “good” condition. Fourteen of the trees are in “fair” condition, while about half of the trees – or 19 of them – are in “poor” condition.
But the tree-huggers weren’t giving up.
At council’s Oct. 21 meeting, councillors heard a deputation from Ann Cooper and Kathleen Knoll, pleading to reconsider the new design for Sixth St. to save the trees.
Following the meeting, when asked about her next steps on the issue, Cooper said that the major public interest in the Sixth St. trees means it’s possible it could become an election issue in 2026.
“I’d like people to know [the election is] two years and five days from today,” she said at that time.
When reached for comment this week, the town’s director of engineering, public works and environment Peggy Slama outlined the next steps for the project.
A 60-per-cent detailed design submission will be submitted to the town and utilities in early January 2025, with any necessary utility relocation planned for the fall of 2025. The full detailed design for the entire project, as well as the tendering for the work, is expected to go out in December 2025.
“Trees will be removed outside of the bird-nesting season in the winter of 2026 and ahead of Phase 1 Construction (Hurontario to Oak Street), scheduled to start in spring of 2026,” said Slama.
Phase two of the construction – the section between Oak and High St. – is expected in 2027.
