The co-chair of the Bannerman Park Foundation is asking city council to reconsider a decision to install a landmark sign in the park.

The city will spend about $85,000 on an illuminated sign measuring about 6 feet high by 38 feet wide.

A small group gathered outside St. John’s city hall over the lunch hour to voice their opposition to the plan.

Shannie Duff, a former mayor of the capital, was part of the campaign which raised millions to revitalize the downtown park. She says it is the most historic of such facilities in the region, but such a large sign will detract from the ambience at Bannerman.

“Every time I walk through the park and hear children playing and see people sitting on a bench or making hammocks and having a beautiful, wonderful time…it’s not an amusement park,” says Duff. “I just feel it’s a step backwards.”

Mayor Breen says city limited in viable locations for sign

Mayor Danny Breen and nearly half a dozen other city councillors came out of city hall to greet protesters.

Breen says there was no public consultation because he wasn’t aware that it would create the stir it did.

He says Bannerman Park was the only city-owned piece of land in the downtown area. Other locales, like Signal Hill for instance, would require permission from Parks Canada.

He says Bannerman Park has “a lot of benefits,” but the city will ” have another look at it”

“To be perfectly honest with you, I didn’t anticipate this type of reaction,”

“I was away last week and I saw this unfolding, so we wanted to be able to let people know that we appreciate your opinion and we’ll certainly have another look at it.”