City stonewalled on replacing stone wall

THUNDER BAY -- Red River Ward residents rejected the city’s design to replace the stone retaining wall on High Street at a ward meeting on Monday.

The wall, whose early 20th Century style is known as “rubble,” was scheduled to be replaced with brick-coloured pressed concrete in the 2016 budget but the project was deferred. 

Studies have been conducted and the wall’s plans have passed an Environmental Assessment but residents who saw photos of the city’s intentions rejected them outright.

“It’s basically an inexpensive mechanism to try to put lipstick on a pig,” said neighbouhood resident David Spackman.

“It’s not a natural stone wall like the one that’s there. We have an opportunity here to make sure that wall remains and remains connected to Hillcrest Park generally and the stone wall that’s there.

“Why would we take something beautiful and replace it with something that isn’t beautiful?”

City engineering and operations director Kayla Dixon took the brunt of the public’s disapproval as she explained the pressed concrete medium as a cost-effective alternative.

“There’s certainly concern from the residents that they want the historical look restored,” she said.

“We will look to see the costs of restoring a rubble facing to that structure and report that to council to see if they have an appetite to fund that.”

Red River Coun. Brian McKinnon credited Dixon as having been willing to consider resident wishes as he committed to meeting with her and working toward a plan for 2017 construction.

“There was a little bit of equivocation about the wall,” McKinnon said.

“It will come down to dollars and cents, quite honestly -- she said that -- and if it has to be rubble -- if it ‘s the same kind of stone -- I guess it’s more costly to put it up. That’s where we’re going to have to look at this.”