Don't Fence Me In

Fencing is gaining popularity in Moscow. No, I'm not talking about the sport. I mean real, honest-to-goodness, dig-a-hole-and-sink-a-post fencing. It seems that everywhere I go these days, my footpaths are becoming more & more restricted. Some of this must be for good reason; in other cases, I'm left to wonder. I'm all about security, especially in a big city, but are all of these fences really necessary?

The most recent location to create a barrier is the Oceanographic Institute, past which I traverse daily. There is a large field beside the facility, on which numerous people walk their dogs, dump their trash, and occasionally park their cars. I guess the powers that be have grown tired of dealing with it all, for a fence is being erected to keep out the undesirables.

It's been quite a lengthy process, the building of this fence. Sometime back in November, my roommate and I noticed that several large holes had been dug in the alley behind the building. As it is a common thing for holes to occur in sidewalks (with or without legitimate reasons) we really didn't think much about it. However, when tall, black, iron bars began to be cemented into those holes, we realized that somebody at the institute meant business. Our walkway was seriously narrowed as the posts began to go up.

A few days later, those same posts came down, because the engineers had miscalculated the distance from the edge of the city property to their own, and had fenced in a manhole cover for city utilities. The bars were sawed off, new holes were dug, and the old ones left to fill in with snow. Walking to school became a little more exciting, for you never knew for sure if you were on solid ground, or a snow-covered post-hole.

The day the new posts were finally set had to be one of the coldest days all semester. I'm sure the daily temperature was at least -10. Is it just me, or is pouring cement at sub-zero temperatures just a little silly? As we walked home that evening, all of the newly cemented posts were leaning all over the place, as the cement had expanded, frozen, and cracked. I wish I'd had my camera that day!

Fast forward to February - and the installation of fence posts at the FRONT of the institute. It now appears that this very serious fence will encompass the entire perimeter of the property, including the main entrance steps. I can understand wanting to keep the dogs & their droppings off the lawn, but shouldn't students be able to walk up the main steps of their school? Where are patrons expected to enter & exit if the bars are blocking all the normal routes?

Who am I to question the workings of the Oceanographic Institute? Why should I worry over access to the steps? If it were my school, wouldn't I want safety & security above an easy entrance? I guess when all is said & done, the best defense is a good...fence.