The days are numbered for 21 Lombardy poplars along Lake Esplanade after a falling tree crushed seven cars and damaged a hotel last month.
Four of the heritage trees will be removed following the advice of an arborist who says the others are also coming to the end of their lives.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council sought the advice after a poplar fell destructively across the road on January 17.
In a report to the council, arborist Samuel Earp, of GreensceneNZ, recommended four high-risk trees be removed first, and the remaining poplars trimmed before their staged removal.
The council was granted resource consent earlier this month to remove three of the trees and prune the others.
Council parks manager Mike Weaver said another resource consent was granted previously to remove a fourth tree singled out by the arborist.
In the removal decision, the council said the trees were protected and a prominent feature, but it was important to recognise they were 80 to 100 years old and coming to the end of their lives.
''The removal and trimming of the trees is considered necessary, based on expert advice, to ensure public safety,'' the decision said.
No-one was injured when the Lombardy poplar fell across Lake Esplanade from St Omer Park last month but the road was blocked for more than two hours.
Mr Weaver said the council was working with contractors to determine a removal date for the four trees and it would ''hopefully'' be in the ''next couple of weeks''.
