ENVIRONMENTAL groups are racing against time after discovering the City of Greater Bendigo wants to cut down 200 trees along Crusoe Road, Lockwood.
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The council is preparing to start work as early as Wednesday but multiple central Victorian environmental groups say they were not consulted about the plans.
They are deeply alarmed and want the project postponed, saying critically endangered swift parrots have previously been sighted in the area.
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They are also concerned about the impact on a threatened tree-dwelling masupial known as the phascogale.
That species relies on hollows that naturally form on trees over decades and centuries, making the environmental groups especially concerned about the removal of 11 major plants.
Bendigo's council wants make way for works including widened shoulders and fixed table drains.
It has a $274,000 grant from the Australian Government's blackspot program, to be spent on a stretch of road where seven crashes and three serious injuries have been recorded since 2013.
"The current road widths along Crusoe Road are not to required safety standards and there are several blind corners," the council's presentation and assets director Brian Westley said.
Story continues below project plans.
The Upper Spring Creek Landcare Group's Judy Crocker walked a section of the road last week and said too many trees were slated for removal.
"My biggest concern here is the environment. This is an area that already lost nearly 2000 trees when the Ravenswood Interchange and Jock Comini rest-stop was installed [several years ago]," she said.
Many of the older trees in the area are on roadsides, Ms Crocker said.
Conservationists have been tackling soil salinity and erosion in the area for decades and previous studies have recommended trees be used as a tool to tackle both issues, the Bendigo and District Environmental Council's Jenny Shield said.
"To increase road safety, they [the council] could mandate lower speed limits along Crusoe Road," she said.
The council's Brian Westley said his group wrote to the road's residents in late-2019 notifying them of plans. He said that follow-up consultations with four.
"Following the initial design, city staff revised the clear zone from a 100km to an 80km design standard which reduced the impact of the project by approximately 150 trees," Mr Westley said.
The council had also worked closely with specialists from the Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning to ensure "all reasonable steps" were taken to minimise impact on the environment, he said.
Mr Westley said the council had consulted with DELWP on offsets for the trees that would be removed.
"The city always aims to minimise environmental impacts when undertaking projects," he said.
"However, it is also important for the city to also balance road safety and mobility with environmental and amenity which often proves a difficult task."