At one of the bridges, where the barricades had been set aside for several weeks by some nearby resident who had taken exception to their having been closed off for access to the ravine trails, we came across a crew of two municipal workers who were busy taking soil samples from the area under the bridge. The purpose, of course, was to try to arrive at a conclusion about the rate of erosion. The bridges, sturdy affairs far more costly to build than their predecessors and meant to withstand the effects of erosion for a long time were erected a scant five years ago.

And now they were deemed by the local parks and recreation ministry to be in danger of collapsing as a result of steady environmental degradation? I recall about ten years ago coming across provincial environmental engineers who were taking samples and evaluating the extent of changes taking place in the ravine and who, when I'd mentioned the erosion and other types of environmental damage we had ourselves noted over the past years, had laughed. Nothing out of the normal for the area, they had assured me then.

The bridge closures have been a real irritant to those people who depend on the ravine and its trails for their leisure-time activity, their accessible and enhanced enjoyment of nature. Time and again the municipal employees have put those barriers in place, and just as often some local has taken the initiative to remove them. Not destroying anything in the process, but removing the lag bolts or huge nails that have been used alternately to put them in place.

Day before yesterday we came across someone on one of the trails, a tall, elegant-looking man, and I called out to him that his height must present as a challenge ducking under the bridge barricades, that  had just recently been re-installed. He stopped, grinned wryly and said he was an employee of the parks and recreation department. He also lives nearby and has done so for decades. He knows the ravine intimately, he has taken his own children over the years through it.

So we stood there, talking and explaining the irritation of trail users and he commiserated in complete understanding of our frustration. He had himself suggested, he said, that they simply post signage reading "use at your own risk", but his superiors had shrugged it off. But, he said, it was useful for him to be able to discuss the issue with others resident in the area who often use the trails.

And, as far as he is aware, there is no intention to block off access to the trails indefinitely. A solution to the issue of soil degradation leading to slippage of the main support posts holding the bridges in place is being looked for. And eventually, he said, the bridges will either be placed under reconstruction or replaced. But the cost and the work involved won't be attractive to city administrators nor to city council. Prepare for taxes to rise.

On the return portion of our circuit we discovered that someone had, in the interval, kicked down several of the barricades. Then taken the trouble to flatten the nails in the downed barricades to ensure that no one might be injured.