When Dana Bagley looks at his harbourside property in Saint John, N.B., he’s less positive than he was in 1998, the year he purchased it.
“Well, just discouraged I guess. Kinda heartbreaking,” Bagley reflected.
Coastal erosion has taken bites out of Bagley’s property line.
The most recent event, a mid-December storm, destroyed his fence, leaving his shed as a potential victim for whenever Mother Nature strikes next.
“I didn’t even go out to look. I was so disheartened. I could see the fence had all fallen in this way, and I knew what it was going to look like,” he remarked.
Bagley said previous discussions with the City of Saint John proved to be uneventful.
As a result, he has hired construction crews on multiple occasions to move the boulders that support his yard.
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A stone’s throw away, on municipal property, large rocks have been placed to protect the land from the tides.
“I feel my property’s just as important as Saint John’s property, you know, I’m paying taxes on this here. I would think we should be protected a little better than how it is, or a lot better.”
For residents in the Red Head area, the effects of coastal erosion are not new, but as time passes, concern has only grown.
“We have one home in jeopardy right now, and our roads and infrastructure are getting very, very close to being compromised as well,” said Garry Prosser of the Red Head Association.
At the end of Anthony’s Cove Road, in the same area, wind and tides have ripped through the roads.
Prosser said while it’s been 30 years since residents in Red Head saw houses slide, there remains a sense of fear.
“There’s homes now on the Red Head Road that have been vacated because of that reason,” Prosser said.
With the growth in government funding to address the impact of climate change, Prosser said he’s hopeful they can finally receive some assistance.
“My god after 55 years someone’s got to pay attention out here.”
In a statement to Global News, Tim O’Reilly, director of Public Works and Transportation for the City of Saint John, said they have been made aware of the concerns in the Red Head Road area.
“Discussions are occurring to help establish what assistance if any, the City can provide,” O’Reilly said.
Global News reached out to Hampton MLA Gary Crossman for comment but did not receive a response by publishing deadline.
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