Plateau residents upset after city removes parking spots for trees

Some people living in the Le Plateau-Mont-Royal are seeing red over a new landscaping project meant to bring more green to the neighbourhood.

They say they have an issue with where the trees are being planted.

Residents of Colonial Avenue welcome the added greenery but not everyone is happy with the decision.

"It's not looking too great, not gonna lie," said Plateau resident Ysandre Beaulieu.

"I think the city hall needs to take another look at this project," added another resident, Hans Lamarre.

The borough planted four trees in the street this year. Every tree takes away a parking in an area that's already difficult to park in.

Trees are being planted on Coloniale Avenue in the Plateau. (Laurence Brisson Dubreuil /CTV News)

"It's one of our important engagements here in the neighbourhood ... that all streets should have trees on both sides of the street," Maeva Vilain, a borough councillor.

Vilain says the project is a low-cost solution to adding greenery on streets with limited sidewalk space. At around $32,000 each, the street flower beds cost about 10 times less than sidewalk ones, she added.

"That's very important for the biodiversity, of course, and also it's important to have big spaces because they absorb a lot of water. It acts like a little sponge," Vilain said, adding that it's a handy feature as floods become more frequent.

Maeva Vilain is the councillor for the Jeanne-Mance district in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. (Laurence Brisson Dubreuil/CTV News)

On the other hand, drivers argue the new trees make life difficult for them.

"When I have family visiting from outside of Montreal, or like from other areas, they can't park and the parking is already very expensive here," said Vic Gort.

Some believe it particularly hurts drivers without parking stickers.

"They've only chosen spots that are unpaid parking, so they haven't reduced paid parking spots at all," one resident told CTV News.

If the choice is between removing a parking space or adding a tree, Vilain says the city is staying true to its promise.

"We are very worried about climate change — we need more trees," she said.

The borough shows no signs of backing down on street tree planting as four more trees are expected to be planted in 2025.