The announcement caused an uproar.
Several associations protested against a
“massive”
roadside tree felling project announced by the Haute-Marne Departmental Council for
“road safety” reasons.
The
president of the council, however, stressed that the decision would be taken
“tree by tree”
.
The LR president of the Departmental Council, Nicolas Lacroix, indicated that 4,000 trees would be examined with a view to possible felling, adding that only sick or dangerous trees would be felled, a decision which would be taken
"tree by tree"
.
“In some places, you don't have the width of a rear-view mirror between the road and the tree
,” he assured AFP on Tuesday.
In addition, some trees have grown so much that they also cause heavy deformations to the roadway, he says.
The implementation of the departmental plan will be detailed this Friday, added the president of the departmental council in a publication on X.
10% of road deaths were in a vehicle that hit a tree
In a press release published Friday February 9, the departmental council recalls that 10% of people killed in a road accident occupied a vehicle that hit a tree, based on the reports from the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory.
“If it is necessary to massively cut down trees to guarantee the safety of our residents and road users, we will not hesitate,”
indicates the department's press release, referring to hedge plantings as compensation.
In addition,
“with global warming, the trees are increasingly sick, our teams prune them, it takes time and it is not always effective
,” added Nicolas Lacroix.
"Aberration"
The president of the Champagnes Ardennes Bird Protection League (LPO), Étienne Clément, deplored the felling of
“mature” trees, which are the most interesting for biodiversity, since they host birds and bats.
.
The organization called for the creation of an
“inventory”
to assess the environmental impact of each tree.
For the 40 million motorists association
“it’s an aberration”
.
Trees help slow down motorists by reducing their visual field, and offer protection against glare, underlines Pierre Chasseray, general delegate of this association.
“The solution to prevent more deaths is to put in restraint devices
,” these guardrails running along the roads, he said.