Regarding No. 5 preparing…

Regarding No. 5 preparing for the future - more extreme rainfall and flooding, item #42, it is not helpful that MTO is not replacing the thousands of roadside Ash trees killed by emerald ash borer. The Highway construction industry and the engineers they employ do not have regard for the significant role of roadside trees in reducing storm water run-off. Perhaps that is because the big money Is in building hard drainage infrastructure. MTO west region does not have a program to replace Ash trees lost to emerald ash borer. In fact mto hasn’t had a active tree planting program since the 70’s. This is why highway rights-of-ways in the Southwest are becoming more barren and prone to flooding. I don’t think that is a responsible approach to managing public property.