Saint John residents are taking it upon themselves to educate tourists about the Reversing Falls after the site’s tourism centre closed.
John MacQueen set up shop at the Reversing Falls Wednesday, saying he’s embarrassed that visitors are arriving to find a boarded-up building and no tour guides in sight.
He spent the day explaining to tourists how the river meets the tide.
“They just keep coming and coming and coming and they have questions and there should be somebody here to answer the questions,” said MacQueen.
“It wouldn’t cost very much money at all to have a couple of tour guides here, like students. You’re talking a few thousand dollars.”
He also offered directions to visitors like Merv Jones, who is visiting from Alberta.
“Especially today while it’s foggy, you don’t really know which way to go, but now that we’re here, it would be nice for someone to point us in the right direction,” said Jones.
The site used to boast a tourism centre, restaurant, gift shop and tour guides, but now the building sits vacant. The city plans to demolish it, with no replacement in sight.
“To not have a temporary facility, something that greets people to the Reversing Falls, is the epitome of incompetence,” said volunteer tour guide Herb Duncan.
The city says it would cost too much money to restore the building, but the decision to demolish the building in the first place is coming under increased scrutiny.
Businessman and local resident Max Kotlowski says the building needs refinishing, but is structurally sound.
“It’s built on limestone, solid bedrock. The foundation shows no sign of crumbling. It looks fresh,” he said.
The Reversing Falls is a popular destination for cruise ship passengers in Saint John, but zip-line operator Terry Stevens says he hopes their itinerary doesn’t include a stop at the boarded-up tourism centre.
“There’s no washroom over there … and hopefully the tourist buses aren’t going over there because it just looks like we’re closed for business,” said Stevens.
The volunteer tour guides say they will continue returning to the site while the city comes up with a plan for tourism season.
Calls to Saint John Mayor Mel Norton were not returned Wednesday.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
