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Ministry of Transportation contracts workers to plant invasive ivy

English ivy was replanted during the Douglas bus lane project
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English ivy is an invasive species which the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure contracted workers to plant during the southbound Douglas Street bus lane project. (Black Press Media file photo)

The Ministry of Transportation commissioned a local contractor to plant an invasive species along a new wall in Greater Victoria.

On Thursday, contractors could be seen planting English ivy near the southbound lane on Douglas Street near the Uptown Shopping Centre.

English ivy is an invasive species which can quickly take over large swathes of land, as well as crawl up walls and buildings, causing infrastructural damage.

The choice, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said, was made to match what had been there previously.

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“The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s contractor is working on landscaping as part of the southbound Douglas Street bus lane project. English ivy has been planted along a section of new retaining wall, replacing the ivy that previously existed in that location,” the Ministry said in a statement to Black Press Media.

However, the decision was quickly reassessed. In the same email, the Ministry said that it “intends to remove this ivy and replant the area with non-invasive species.”

vnc.editorial@blackpress.ca

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