Construction fencing at the Canada Games Pool site has been reinforced after it toppled over on a mom and her daughter on the weekend.

The pair had left swimming lessons at Canada Games Pool on Saturday morning and was walking along East Sixth Avenue when the incident occurred at about 10:15 a.m. on April 10.

“The mom and the daughter were walking along and there was a strong gust of wind. It toppled onto them,” said Christy Mereigh, the city’s project manager, strategic services. “Some passersby stopped and lifted the construction fencing to assist them out.”

Construction of the new aquatic and community centre had begun only days earlier with site preparation work, including installation of construction fencing around the worksite.

“It must have been a pretty strong gust of wind to blow the fencing down. It was not normal for that for construction fencing, but it happened,” Mereigh said. “They were in the setup stage. It was just being brought on site and set up.”

Mereigh said further anchoring work was scheduled to be done to the fence on April 12 and 13.

“The fences were all bolted together,” said Mereigh, who visited the site after the incident. “Each panel had been tied together, which, when it did topple, all the fencing came down.”

Several passersby came to the mother and young girl’s assistance. One person ran to the fire hall to get help, and several people worked together to lift the heavy fencing so the mom could get out from where she’d been pinned.

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