A spokesperson for the City of Surrey says the 12 Douglas Firs removed from 128 Street near 20 Avenue are being replaced with 40 Western Red Cedars.
The trees were cut down to fix a traffic problem, design and construction manager Ken Zondervan told Peace Arch News last week.
The current intersection layout includes a right-turn lane for traffic heading southbound on 128 Street to turn west on to 20 Avenue.
Some impatient drivers have been using the right-turn lane to get around vehicles waiting to make a left turn, Zondervan said.
“The problem was people were going straight through.”
There have been some near-misses involving motorists heading northbound on 128 Street, who have complained to the city.
“There’s a high potential for head-on collisions,” Zondervan said.
The fix is to widen the street south of 20 Avenue, and that is why the trees had to come down, he said.
“There was no other option.”
The cutting was suspended for a week-and-a-half after one resident objected and suggested a roundabout would be a better solution.
Zondervan says staff provided the resident an overlay of a roundabout on a map of the intersection to show it would mean even more trees would have to come down.
The replacement Western Red Cedar trees – chosen because they grow fast – will be planted on the same side of the street, he said.