There has been a game of tug-of-war, or an instance of simple civil insubordination (disobedience?) taking place in our neighbourhood forest, the ravine where intertwined trails lead over, around, above, through the many hills and valleys, heights and creek tributaries at the very heart of our part of the city, to enable those residents with a love of nature to amble about to their hearts' ease when they so wish.

The municipality's parks and recreation department must have conducted a survey or received a complaint from a nearby resident. In their great wisdom, they decided, it would appear, to cut off access to all the bridges that link the trails together. Having made the decision that there is something unsafe about the bridges, perhaps due to environmental deterioration, erosion, extreme weather events. Whatever that unsafe-to-the-public insight might be, it has not been revealed to us, other than loosely oblique statements which explain nothing. When those links, the bridges, are closed off for public use, there remains simply no way that trails can be accessed.

The net effect is to shut down completely the use of the woodland ravine, a vast recreational outreach for the community, much beloved by many who have made it their second home as far as close-to-home outdoor recreation goes, for many decades. Without the approachability and welcome use of the ravine, to be able to wander at will throughout the forested areas, many people would have reason to believe that the quality of their lives has suddenly been diminished.

Certainly, we are among them. When various residents call the municipality to speak with those involved or write to them, there haven't been any satisfactory responses. In the sense that no one seems to have full authority there to disclose details of the situation, and no seems to know what further plans may be in the works to solve what is becoming a neighbourhood dilemma.

When those signs first went up it was thought that works crews would swiftly undertake repairs or whatever was thought to be necessary in remediation though there did not seem to be any problems we could detect with the condition of the bridges, built to robust standards and not yet a decade ago. Instead, nothing has been done. The signs remain posted, and the barriers refusing bridge access have remained.

That is, they would remain, our access to the bridges would be restricted, and we would have to continue our acrobatic manoeuvres to keep ducking under them to make use of the bridge, if some good soul hadn't decided finally to take it upon himself to remove them. Not entirely remove them, just dislodge them at one end of each barrier to effect normal entry.

So far, on three occasions workers have re-entered the ravine and put the barriers back in place, first with screws, then with long nails. And each time they have re-placed the barriers, some Sherwood Forest Robin Hood character has taken pains to carefully, without destroying the barriers, remove them again to permit access to the bridges.

Should that person's identity ever be revealed, ravine habitues would undoubtedly nominate him/her for a distinguishing medal of some notable type, a local hero.