Community & Business
1 December, 2021
Dangerous trees to be removed from park
ALL 10 trees in Tom Johnson Park in Kairi will be chopped down and removed after an 84-year-old woman was recently struck by falling tree branches.
The incident is not isolated, with residents reporting that branches fall regularly and believe the trees are dangerous to anyone entering the park or parking at the front.
At last week’s meeting, Tablelands Regional Council voted to remove all the cadaghi trees as soon as possible and replace them with suitable species of trees or shrubs.
However, before the vote, some councillors called for community consultation to be undertaken, an arborist’s report to be done, or a risk assessment to determine the level of danger the trees pose.
Councillor David Clifton said he had consulted with the community and was sure there would be no objection to chopping down the trees.
“The community has no trust in those trees and won’t go near that park until they are removed,” he said.
“I have had meetings with the community and I cannot find anyone who objects to them being removed.
Deputy Mayor Kevin Cardew supported his position, and rejected any suggestion council should wait until community consultation and an arborist’s report was done.
“There have been numerous reports of tree branches hitting cars – it is lucky someone hasn’t been killed,” he said.
“Getting an arborist’s report would be of no use because it will come back and say the trees are healthy and consultation has been done.
“The trees pose a high risk and I’m not prepared to let it go on while we go through some bureaucratic process – they need to go.”
Kairi Hotel manager Marianne Muoio said she had witnessed branches falling on cars countless times over the past three years she had been at the hotel. She said council had ben asked to remove the trees on many occasions.
The 84-year-old woman who was struck by falling branches on 13 October had been at the hotel for a family gathering and was hit when she attempted to enter her car.
She suffered wounds to her arm, requiring her to be transported to Atherton Hospital.
“We have a carpark out the front and there are have many times the branches have fallen on cars and on people,” she said.
“No one will be sad to see them go. The park is empty at the moment because it’s just too dangerous.”
Ms Muoio also raised the risk to power lines near the trees.
“The branches hang over the powerlines so in a storm or cyclone, we will lose power,” she said. “And all the leaves and branches have fallen on the hotel as well as block up all our gutters.”
Ms Muoio said she would like council to take the opportunity to “pretty up” the small town, given it was a stopover for the thousands of people who visited Lake Tinaroo every year.
“It’s a great opportunity to make Kairi a prettier place like Yungaburra because Kairi is the gateway to Lake Tinaroo and we get thousands of tourists every year that go through here,” she said.
Council voted to remove the trees, with Crs Annette Haydon, Dave Bilney and Bernie Wilce voting against the motion.
