Street tree removals in the Bridgetown Town Centre
In the coming weeks, the Shire will remove six street trees in the Bridgetown Town Centre to allow essential infrastructure works to proceed and to bring footpaths up to current accessibility and public safety standards.
Steere Street and Civic Lane intersection - one tree
One mature Queensland Box (Lophostemon confertus) will be removed to allow construction of the approved Steere Street / Civic Lane modification works. The tree sits within the construction footprint and cannot be retained without compromising the design, function and safety of the intersection upgrade.
Hampton Road, outside the Rabbit Hole and Pottery Restaurant - five trees
Five semi-mature Chinese Tallow trees (Triadica sebifera) will be removed along the Hampton Road footpath. Root growth and the position of the trees have narrowed the usable width of the path, creating accessibility problems and ongoing maintenance issues.
Removing them will allow a continuous, compliant and safe footpath to be restored for everyone using it — including people with disabilities, parents with prams and people using mobility scooters.
Why this work is going ahead
Removing established trees is never a decision the Shire takes lightly. We know how much the Town Centre's trees are valued, and every removal is weighed carefully against the benefits of the works and the long-term care of the town's urban forest.
In these cases, the trees can't be kept without compromising works that are needed to make the intersection and the footpath safe and accessible — including for people who currently find parts of the Town Centre difficult to get around.
Replacement planting
Unfortunately, the same constraints mean new trees can't go back in these particular spots. The Shire will be looking at other suitable planting locations around town to help offset the removals, as part of our ongoing work to maintain and grow Bridgetown's tree canopy.
For more information, contact the Shire on (08) 9761 0800 or at BTN@bridgetown.wa.gov.au