Casablanca Residents Outraged as Authorities Fell Trees on Al Qods Boulevard

Faced with the desolate sight that greeted them on Friday morning, the residents denounced, helplessly, this act, especially since the neighborhood "does not have green spaces, except for the small gardens at the exit of the cafes".

"It is really irresponsible on the part of the authorities. In a short period of time, they have cleared a dozen trees. Already we are suffering from the lack of green spaces in the neighborhood, and now they are taking away the trees that made the beauty of our boulevard and allowed us to breathe a little in the middle of the dust," fumed a resident of the neighborhood, stressing that even if it is for the public interest, common sense would have dictated that an alternative be provided by the city council.

According to the employees approached on site by Hespress, it is a "justified" felling to give substance to a "high-level bus service" (BHNS) development project, planned on the large Al Qods boulevard, and the technical aspect of which is managed by Casa Transport. This information was also confirmed by Mustapha Lhaya, deputy mayor of Casablanca and in charge of works and infrastructure.

He specified that "the BHNS line, planned at the level of the Al Qods boulevard in Casablanca, which starts from the Salmia district, passing through Al Joulane, will take the Mohammed VI Boulevard and the Al Qods Boulevard to go as far as Lissasfa, and more precisely to the Azbane roundabout, in order to cross the Tram which is located at the level of the latter". Two lines of this kind are planned, according to the explanations of the deputy mayor. The first is that of the Al Qods Boulevard while the second will start from the "Rahma" district in Casablanca, to go to the city center.

According to Lhaya, there will certainly be an appropriate alternative to the planned development for the BHNS, as in the case of the tramway, so that there is a certain harmony. He reassures that "the authorities are trying to develop the available spaces with the available means, but which correspond to the new BHNS project", he insists.

It should be recalled that the Driss El Harti boulevard in Sbata-Casablanca, commonly called by the residents, the Boulevard of the Trees (Chari3 Chjar), was completely cleared, and its almost century-old trees that gave it its name, have completely disappeared as part of the development of line 3 of the Tramway.