BRT seen to affect 2K trees along route

Over 2,000 trees along the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route will have to be removed to pave the way for the project.

BRT project chief Rafael Yap said most of the trees identified by Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) were Indian, Narra and Mahogany trees.

Yap said a public hearing will be held on May 17 starting at 9 a.m. at the Rizal Public Library to address the issue.

Yap said they wish to have a lot of stakeholders like barangays and non-government organizations to attend the public hearing to get their sentiments on the planned removal of the trees.

“The Project Implementation Unit (PIU) will discuss the extent of the affected trees, outline the measures to be taken to alleviate the impact and listen to the sentiments of stakeholders during the public hearing,” Yap said.

Right now, Yap said they are still preparing for the procurement for the construction contractor of the first phase of the project which will be along Osmeña Boulevard.

The BRT corridor will start at Barangay Bulacao in the south district all the way to Barangay Talamban in the north district.

Based on CENRO’s records, a total of 2,166 trees spread across 21 barangays will have to be removed for the project.

Former Cebu City Councilor Nida Cabrera, the environment consultant of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, said they prepared a project proposal for a greening program to replace the trees.

“We will plant 350,000 seedlings and saplings as replacement. We are readying 10 nurseries right now for this purpose,” she said. One of those sites is the Cantipla area in Barangay Tabunan.

Cabrera said they would make sure that the trees will be earthballed and not cut since some of the trees are at least a century old.