Resident Kirstie Pupazzoni said she first noticed the tree had been cut down on March 8 and when she went back the following day the stump had been removed.
“Now what remains is a very large empty corner verge with no tree or any vegetation,” Ms Pupazzoni said.
“It was a huge beautiful tree and one of the only established trees around in this block of houses.
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READ NOW“You could tell just by looking at the size of the stump how huge the tree had been.”
City of Stirling parks and reserves manager Ian Hunter said the tree was removed on March 3 because it was “essentially a canopy of dead wood”.
“While considerable care was taken in its retention, ultimately the extent of road construction, compaction and root disruption due to development led to the gradual decline of the tree in the past three to four years,” Mr Hunter said.
“As the tree was a safety risk to motorists and pedestrians, regrettably the City had to remove the tree.”
Mr Hunter said the tree was a safety risk to motorists and pedestrians.
“As the tree was on an exposed site next to a road intersection with footpath alongside, the tree presented an unacceptable risk,” he said.
“The City will be planting a semi-advanced replacement tuart as part of the winter planting program.”
Ms Pupazzoni said she and other residents were confused about removal.
“You can see that during planning and development accommodations for the tree were made as the footpath swerves to go around the area where the tree used to be,” she said.