Street Trees

To request maintenance or planting, visit ServiceBarrie.ca, and create or log in to your account. Choose "Parks and Trees" and the form will walk you through the appropriate steps.

Alternatively, for maintenance requests, you can send details including your name, address, phone number, address of the tree, and a description of the concern to ServiceBarrie@barrie.ca. Pictures of the tree are welcome.

Forestry addresses maintenance requests accordingly, year-round. Tree planting is done in the spring and fall.

All new subdivisions are required to be planted by the subdivision developer. The City will not reimburse residents for any payments made to the developer for boulevard/street trees.

The City provides replacement trees in older areas of Barrie, provided the location conforms with minimum setback standards and is clear of utilities. To request a street tree, please call 705-726-4242. Trees are planted during the annual tree planting contract in the spring and/or fall, as budgets permit.

When selecting tree species for replanting, the City follows recommendations from Landscape Ontario. These recommendations consider factors such as eco-zones, climate, location, salt tolerance, and soil conditions, including compacted or poor soils. Qualified Forestry staff carefully choose the appropriate tree species for each site.

Residents are encouraged to care for their new street tree by providing adequate watering and fertilizing. To remain healthy, the new tree will require some help from the homeowner:

1. Water: Please water the tree once a week during the summer months or during dry periods. Participate in the Street Tree Watering Program (three-year commitment) to use a slow release watering bag provided by the City, or water by letting the hose dribble slowly at the base of the tree for an hour.
2. Protect: Protect your tree by avoiding striking the bark with your lawnmowers or weedeater as this will girdle the tree and lead to its death.
3. Fertilize: Keep all weed killers away from the tree and do not fertilize the tree for the first two years. Your new tree may experience some shock and appear under stress for the first few months.

All newly planted street trees are automatically inspected the year after they are planted to ensure they are healthy. If they did not survive, they are marked for removal and replacement as part of the process of inspection. 

If you have concerns about the health of your street tree, please contact Service Barrie at (705) 726-4242 or ServiceBarrie@barrie.ca to provide details so an urban forestry staff person can attend to assess the tree's health.

In 2006, City staff instituted a moratorium on planting Ash species on public lands in Barrie and recommended that land developers and consultants omit ash from planting on private property. Signs and symptoms of EAB-infested ash trees include:

• premature yellowing of leaves
• dead branches
• thinning crown
• branches sprouting from the base of the tree
• bark cracks
• a “zig-zag” path under dead portions of bark
• D-shaped holes from where new adults exit the tree

If a City tree exhibits these signs, please report it online or contact Service Barrie at 705-726-4242 or ServiceBarrie@barrie.ca. Related link: Urban Forestry Pests & Diseases

If you're concerned that your private tree is infested, please contact a certified arborist to have it inspected. There are several local tree companies with certified, licensed and insured arborists who can assess your trees and provide recommendations on the best course of action.​

In terms of newly planted trees, the City’s tree planting contractor replaces 50-60 trees each year under warranty. These replacements are often necessary due to transplant shock, which can result from poor handling at the tree nursery, insufficient watering after digging, transportation or planting problems, planting on hot/dry days without watering in, and/or inadequate or excessive watering after planting.

The City removes and replaces approximately 800 trees per year from boulevards and parks out of a total of 50,000 street and park trees in Barrie. On average, the lifespan of these trees is 62 years, varying from species with shorter lifespans to long-lived varieties like maples and oaks. This lifespan aligns with the typical expectancy for Ontario municipalities.

The City does not have the budget or staff to water every boulevard tree. This pilot program will help the tree establish a good root system and survive the establishment period (the first three years after it's planted). The goal is to have boulevard trees grow into a healthy urban forest. If we can get trees past that establishment period, their survival rate is much higher. The tree watering bag's slow-release watering system provides deep water saturation and is convenient to use as it needs to be filled only once per week.

Residents with access to a newly planted boulevard tree are encouraged to participate:

• Request a street tree watering bag or contact Service Barrie at 705-726-4242 or ServiceBarrie@barrie.ca to register. To receive the bag, you must agree to participate in the watering program for three years.   
• Forestry staff will deliver the slow release watering bag and attach it to your tree (detailed instructions will be included).
• Fill up the bag with water ONCE a week from May to October for three years.
• Leave the bag on the tree and it will be picked up at the end of October. Wait for the new bag to arrive in the spring!

If you prefer to water a tree with your household hose, please follow the steps below:

• Turn the hose on very slightly so that a small trinkle of water is coming out.
• Set the hose beside the tree for an hour.
• Do this once per week. Do not overwater the tree.

Street tree pruning is required approximately every 7–10 years.

Street tree pruning is completed by a qualified forestry crew.

Street trees are pruned for:

• safety concerns
• maintenance of legislated clearances
• tree health & vitality
• disease control

Standard tree pruning involves:

1. removing all dead, dying, diseased, decayed, interfering, noticeably weak or crowded branches.
2. crown raising, the removal of lower branches and stem suckers as follows:
   a. 4 metres over curb and street
   b. 2.5 metres over sidewalk and lawn
   c. All other necessary clearance from driveways, signs, lights and other fixed objects or structures.
3. clearing stop signs to a minimum of 25 metres clear view.
4. clearing traffic signals to a minimum 25 metres clear view.
5. reporting any other defects to the Forestry Coordinator for inspection and action.

Individual tree pruning requirements may include:

• removal of dead branches
• clearance for pedestrian/vehicle traffic
• visibility clearance for stop signs, traffic signals
• clearance from buildings
• structural training
• crown thinning for tree health/vigour and improve sunlight penetration
• crown balance to correct for storm damage

If, during the tree pruning, a tree is found to be more than 50% dead; is diseased; or is deemed to be structurally unsound it will be scheduled for complete removal.