Surrey North Delta Leader, December 02, 2014

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Tuesday December 2 2014

▼ Choice school sign-ups now online 6

▼ Wrestler awarded a world title 14

The

Leader

SURREY IS LOSING ITS TREE CANOPY, REPORT SHOWS

PATIENTS WAITING TOO LONG FOR SURGERY ▶ FRASER HEALTH FACING FINES FOR FAILING TO PERFORM PROCEDURES WITHIN ONE YEAR 3

Fraser Health is already facing fines of more than $2.5 million for 650 scheduled surgeries that were delayed more than a year as of Oct. 9, while another 4,124 surgeries have waited six to 12 months.

▶ CITY’S TREE COVER DROPPED FROM 33% IN 2001 TO 27.17% LAST YEAR; 40% WOULD BE IDEAL, RESEARCH SAYS KEVIN DIAKIW

Surrey has lost almost one-fifth of its tree canopy in just over a decade, according to a recent study commissioned by the city. The report also shows stark differences between the amount of tree cover in existing developments to that which is provided in new construction. The city hired North Surrey’s Urban Systems this year to provide an analysis of the city’s existing tree canopy. A tree canopy (the above-ground portion of a tree) is a measure of plant cover in the city and is a major indicator of urban environmental health. Research shows a canopy of 40 per cent is one aspect of being considered an environmentally friendly city. Surrey is short of that and heading in ▶ “We need to be the wrong direction. In 2001, 33 per cent of Surrey was covpaying attention ered by trees, the report shows. By 2009, to the green that dropped to 30 per cent, and four years later the figure had sunk to 27.17 infrastructure.” per cent. MAYOR DIANNE WATTS The numbers represent a decline in tree canopy of 17.66 per cent over those 13 years. Surrey is aiming to be at 40 per cent by 2058, but it will require some significant changes to turn things around. New developments are a large contributor to canopy loss, according to figures in the report. The average existing single-family residential development (city-wide) in 2009 had 23.5-per-cent tree canopy. Now, the average new home construction has a 2.6-per-cent tree canopy. The figure is even more stark in South Surrey, where it dropped from 47.8 per cent in 2009 to 7.7 per cent for new developments. Similar drops occurred across the board when comparing existing

FILE PHOTO

We’re all over the map.

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30 BC locations.


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