Despite the removal of trail closure signs, Salmon Arm's Pileated Woods remains closed to the public.
The trail system, located east of 5th Street SE between Auto Road and Old Auto Road, was closed by the city on Aug. 16 due to safety concerns around hazard trees requiring removal.
Trail closure signs that had been placed at access points along Auto were recently removed, but not by the city. City roads and parks manager Darin Gerow explained via email that the signs were relocated or stolen.
"This is unfortunate as we now require staff time to go and replace all the signage," said Gerow, adding "we have not yet completed the works to ensure the safety of the park."
In August, prior to the park's closure, the city had a hazard tree inventory and management plan done at the park, where the needles of many trees had turned reddish brown – a sign of disease and/or environmental stressors. The inventory involved identifying tree health and condition and recommending risk evaluations and removals of appropriate trees. Through the inventory process, 208 trees of six different species were found to have "defects or concerns," and it was recommended 178 of those trees be removed "due to condition or because (of) their location in relation to other trees to prevent competition or damage to infrastructure."
At its Aug. 26 meeting, city council urged that action be taken sooner than later.
"We need to get those trees done," said Mayor Alan Harrison. "I’m worried that if we don’t, either someone is going to get hurt, they’re going to fall across the power lines, they’re going to cause a fire, they’re a hazard."
