UNA Directors were told during their final meeting of 2025 that staff have launched an internal review of school walking routes.
During the meeting held on December 16, UNA operations staff said they are currently collecting and compiling walking route data to identify safety improvements, including enhancing pedestrian visibility along high-traffic corridors on campus. They will also be looking at potential locations for new or improved crosswalk markings at appropriate crossing points.
Areas covered in the review include routes at East Campus, Hawthorn Place, Hampton Place, and Wesbrook Place.
In a report, UNA Operations Manager Wegland Sit said the review follows a recent “walk-shop” involving UBC Campus and Community Planning, UBC transportation staff, and the UNA’s Land Use Advisory Committee.
Directors address criticism of tree removals
During the first UNA board meeting of the year held on January 20, directors addressed a letter from a Hampton Place strata council that expressed concern over the removal of ash trees in the neighbourhood.
In the letter, dated November 12, 2025, president Rene Wahl from the Thames Court Strata Council requested the board to not remove any ash trees in Hampton Place without the prior agreement of stratas.
In voicing opposition to removal, Wahl cited the lack of evidence of an existing emerald ash borer infestation in Hampton Place, and touted the environmental importance of the trees to the neighbourhood.
“The Ash trees at Hampton Place are integral to the landscape design and environmental character of our neighbourhood,” Wahl wrote. “Their removal, particularly without scientific necessity or proper consultation, would represent a significant and irreversible alteration of the community environment.”
In response to the letter, UNA board chair Eagle Glassheim sought approval through a motion to write a letter to Wahl that outlines the UNA’s tree management policies and how it is handling existing ash trees in Hampton Place, as infestation has taken hold in other parts of the lower mainland and beyond.
Director Carole Jolly from UBC Campus and Community Planning added that the letter should emphasize that tree management comes from the expert opinion of arborists, and not from the input of UNA directors. The board voted to approve Glassheim’s motion.
Three ash trees located at 5650 Hampton Place were cut down late last year after UBC issued a permit authorizing their removal.
The emerald ash borer is an invasive beetle that infests ash trees before killing them in two to four years. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed the presence of the beetles in Vancouver in the spring of 2024 and is working with the City of Vancouver to halt their spread.
The draft 2026-2027 UNA budget, which has yet to be approved, allocates $35,000 to treat local ash trees to prevent infestation, as well as $10,000 to replace those that are authorized to be removed.
DANIEL LI IS A GRADE 12 STUDENT PASSIONATE ABOUT POLITICS AND JOURNALISM.
WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING FROM EMMANUEL SAMOGLOU.