Power lines hurting tourism: residents

Some residents in St. Peters, on P.E.I.'s North Shore, say Maritime Electric's poles and wires are ruining the view of the bay.

St. Peter's is the closest community to the newest section of P.E.I. National Park at Greenwich, and has seen growth in the number of visitors in the last few years. There is a new boardwalk with shops and interpretive centres, but the view of the bay from that boardwalk is cut through by power lines.

Peter MacDougall, a former village councillor in St. Peters, said P.E.I. only has two designated scenic zones: New London and Borden-Carleton. In those areas, the law requires utilities to bury their wires if possible. He believes it's time the province started designating other areas, including St. Peters Bay.

"Between the telephone wires and the poles and everything it's extremely ugly.

"It should have never happened and they actually should be required to move them. It's amazingly ugly."

MacDougall said Maritime Electric has told the village it can bury the wires, but it would cost the community $20,000. That's beyond the cost the 250-member community can afford.

Bruce Smith runs an interpretive centre overlooking the bay. He's concerned about safety, especially at dusk, when people want to take pictures of the sunset.

"People will park their cars here, but they've got to cross the road to be able to take the pictures without the wires," said Smith.

Tourists in the community when CBC visited agreed the power lines are a problem.

"Wouldn't be framing them, putting them on my wall, saying this is Prince Edward Island," said one woman.

"I don't think of Prince Edward Island [having] marred its landscape in anyway."

"I guess it's the natural beauty that you're after," added the man with her.

"The wires are not natural beauty."

Earlier this spring, the Institute of Island Studies suggested the province should create more scenic zones. Information gathered on behalf of the Department of Tourism shows the main reason tourists come to P.E.I. is the scenery.