Fence and sensibility: Parks Canada tearing down Signal Hill barrier

Mere days after being erected by Parks Canada, a wooden fence blocking the view of St. John's from a spot on historic Signal Hill will be torn down after public outrage.

"I love seeing how much people care about Signal Hill and our national parks and historic sites," said Catherine McKenna, federal minister responsible for national parks,in a press release on Wednesday.

"While visitor safety is a top priority for Parks Canada, we have heard loud and clear that the design and placement of this fence missed the mark, and it will be taken down by the end of the week."

The decision came in response to "feedback" Parks Canada received, after constructing the fence near the Signal Hill visitors centre. The iconic hill,which was the site of the first transatlantic wireless transmission in 1901, is one of the most popular landmarks in the provincial capital.

The fence was built to"address safety concerns" and improve the experience for visitors during performances at the city, according to the statement.

McKenna later told CBC News she heard about the fence, and saw the reaction on social media, on Tuesday.

She said there are better ways to keep pedestrians andtraffic safe.

"We can achieve the objective, I think, by having just a removable barrier that's only used during performances so that you achieve the safety objective, but also people love looking at Signal Hill, obviously. So it makes me very happy," she said.

McKenna isn't laying the blame on Parks Canada.Rather she praises its hard work addressing safety concerns outside of the visitor centre. She said the wood from the fence will be reused in the new, temporary barrier.

McKenna could not confirm the price of the initial build.

The fence is 52 metres (about 170 feet) long and stands about three metres (about 10 feet)high.

That would cost at least $34,000, according toHickey's Timber Mart, which is located just outside St. John's and which helped CBCNews with a rough cost estimate. Hickey's charges a minimum of $200 a foot for a similar project, for both labour and materials.

Local MPsNick Whalen and Seamus O'Reganhad also expressed "some concerns," according to McKenna.

Whalen, the MP for St. John's East, earlier told CBC News he was "flabbergasted" by the fence and its ugliness.

But he's upset about more than the fence; it's the entire flow of traffic on Signal Hill.

Signal Hill Road used to go straight to the top, but was changed several years ago to include a roundabout that brings driversby the visitorscentre and amphitheatre.

If the traffic hadn't been diverted, Whalen said, there'dnever have been a need for a fence.

"They've taken one mistake and they've compounded it and now made two," hetold CBC'sSt. John's Morning Showon Wednesday.

Before its time as a wireless station, Signal Hill was an important military site in the early days of European settlement since it overlooks the narrow entrance to the city's harbour.

In 1762, it played host to the Battle of Signal Hill, the last fight of the SevenYears' War. The English, led by Lt.-Col. William Amherst, pushedFrench forces into surrendering St. John's.

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