I’ve always viewed chain-link as the most utilitarian of all fence varieties, the go-to option when demarcation of a certain space is the primary objective. Need to define a school yard, zoo enclosure or minimum-security prison? Chain-link is most definitely your fencing of choice.
However, I think I’m safe in saying that no one ever selected chain-link because of its aesthetics. If the goal is to create something other than an institutional feel, then pretty much any other fencing on the market would be preferred.
I offer this rather obvious piece of insight because the Town of Okotoks will soon revisit the fencing requirements for properties that border public open spaces as part of yet another round of strategies to deal with the area’s rather healthy deer population. Full disclosure: my property is one of those that backs onto a park.
A deer deterrent pilot fencing program launched a couple of years ago comes to an end this spring, so the Town is reviewing options to allow different styles or heights of permanent fences for properties that border open spaces. That’s not a bad idea given the only thing uglier than chain-link fences are chain-link fences with a mishmash of temporary extensions.
To be fair, chain-link has not only ensured uniformity but its durability has prevented unsightly situations when fences invariably fall into disrepair. Drive down most alleys in town and you’ll see examples of how it could look worse, but thankfully given those locations, only neighbours and trash collectors are subjected to such horrors.
I get that you don’t want contrasting styles, and there’s something to be said for allowing light to pass through such barriers, particularly when they abut public spaces, but maybe we don’t have to opt for the lowest common denominator.
Without significant supplemental landscaping, a four-foot chain-link fence does nothing to provide privacy, which is a big reason why a fence is erected in the first place, and it doesn’t do a lot on the security front either, which is certainly a consideration when a property can easily be accessed from a public space.
It's also not tall enough to stop a Lab-shepherd cross from clearing it in order to chase a hare, a situation we found ourselves in a couple of years ago when we backed onto a park while living in Beaumont. Our dog disappeared for over 24 hours, save for the sightings reported on Facebook of her running down the middle of a two-lane, 100 km/h highway at the edge of town, before she thankfully found her way back home. After the escape, a row of evergreens was planted as soon as the weather allowed to provide a physical and visual deterrent that a chain-link fence simply couldn’t.
I see the landscaping-as-a-barrier strategy has been employed by some homeowners around here who have enough vegetation at the edges of their properties to effectively make the chain-link fence little more than an afterthought. Should that approach not be to everyone’s liking, having other fencing options would be helpful.
And by that, I don’t mean chain-link that’s tall enough to surround a tennis court.
