A California state agency is changing its construction plans following an outcry from residents who said a new fence was blocking the town’s ocean views.The California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) approximately $9.5 million improvement project was undertaken to improve pedestrian safety and disability access along Highway 1 through Fort Bragg in Northern California’s Mendocino County.But as soon as residents saw a tall new fence start to go up, they took action.A new fence installed along Highway 1 in Fort Bragg, California, sparked backlash from residents who said the structure obstructed views of the Pacific Ocean.(Myung J.
Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)ONCE-HIDDEN COASTAL TOWN FACING DISRUPTION AS SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS TRANSFORM LOCAL LIFE"The entrance to our town now has a fence that is substantially higher than the original fence and blocks the view of the ocean — a view that has long been part of what makes Fort Bragg special," Mary Rose Kaczorowski, a candidate for Fort Bragg City Council, wrote in a letter to the editor of the Ukiah Daily Journal."This is not simply a matter of replacing an existing fence; it changes the character and view of one of our town’s important gateways," she wrote.The new fence along Main Street replaced an older, shorter wooden fence that allowed passersby to see the Noyo Headlands and ocean beyond it, according to SFGATE."We’re marketing towards being a sea town, but you can’t see the sea.It’s a bit of a buzzkill," Aiden McFadden, a front-desk associate at the Seabird Lodge, told SFGATE.TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZA view of the original fence at 810 S Main St Fort Bragg, California.
(Google Maps)"We understand why they’re putting in the fencing, but we didn’t expect there to be an actual wall, a barrier, between us and the ocean view," she said."The original fence did its work."Kaczorowski wrote that residents and "everyone who comes to Fort Bragg" deserved "a cle...