The wonderful old Toronto neighbourhood I used to live in had not a power line in sight anywhere, but thousands of beautiful trees that would literally form an arc over the street in summer. The trees and the birds they brought were the harbingers of spring, the celebration of summer, and the beautification of fall. The power lines and the power companies had better learn to work around it.

What surprises me is that we're genuinely discussing this on page 2...

That being said, I live in a neighbourhood with buried utilities and the city buries them when there is any major roadwork.

My point -- which is really more related to the urban than the rural environment -- is that the solution to trees falling on power lines isn't to decimate urban trees which is the heart and soul of living in a mature urban neighbourhood and a major boost to the environment, but rather to deal with the lines themselves, and bury them underground.

What everyone is not understanding, from an urban-planning perspective, is that if you removed all trees that are planted in the utility right-of-way under or near power lines, you'd basically eliminate about half of the trees of any community.

The answer is to bury the power lines, not kill off our dwindling supply of mature trees.

About the only place that a tree can actually grow to full maturity are the ones on public property. Many new residential lots built in the last 20 years have a pittance for a yard - not enough space for a tree, let alone a mature tree.

Cost benefit? How many trees vs how much to cut down vs how much money lost to an infrequent power failure caused by a falling tree.

Hydro One cuts trees in our area at least every ten years. They are working at Sauble Beach right now. It is required and it works.

Hydro One is taking down some stuff on their property in Waterloo and everyone is up in arms (people living in the area). Not hurricane related, but that is the type of stuff that caused the issue with the 2003 blackout, tree's that interfered with the electrical lines in Ohio.

We keep a lot of tree's away from power lines already, but here's the thing... the tree near the power line to YOUR house is... your responsibility as soon as it hits your property.

Yes, woman hit by a Staples sign.

One that I can think off. And that is the results of Sandy's winds

Can't have basements in case of an earthquake. You don't want everything fall on you and then getting stuck with out way out and suffocating without air.

Also, houses can't be build with anything that's flammable or it'll burn down.

All houses should be exactly 1 story high, no basements, and built from non-flammable materials only (100% asbestos would be great! And Ontario can get it pretty cheap too, I bet.) . And there can be no trees, lamp posts or sign posts near by.

When was the last hurricane in Thornhill?

That seems..... excessive.

They already do trim around power lines to mitigate the risk, and that's enough for me. The number of trees that would have to go to completely remove the risk is far too high in my opinion.