New Yukon signs an unwelcome sight for some

The Yukon government is in the process of upgrading the welcome signs at the territory's nine border crossings with Alaska and B.C., but there are people on both sides of the border who aren't happy about it. 

Some are making accusations about about a lack of public consultation, outsourcing the work to a non-Yukon based business, and a hefty price tag. 

Steve Wilson is a wildlife photographer based in Whitehorse. His online posts showing the signs have garnered dozens of comments and shares. He said one complaint is the Yukon government's decision to hire a Nova Scotia-based architecture firm, Fathom Studios, to design the signs. 

"To go 6,000 kilometres away to get a design from people who have probably never been here, let alone live here and love here, you know it just seems very strange," Wilson said. 

The design itself has also drawn ire. 

"It looks plastic," Wilson said. "Plastic is fake, and there's nothing fake about the Yukon."

Erin Gray is an Alaskan tour guide for Frontier Expeditions. He regularly brings guests back and forth across the border on the Klondike Highway. He said he's noticed guests are less inclined to stop and have their pictures taken with the new signs. 

"As guides, we're telling stories of the gold rush, of Jack London and the like and then we come to this plastic sign and it doesn't match." 

Gray started a petition to bring back the old signs that has garnered over 200 signatures. 

Project cost over $500,000 

The Yukon government confirmed that in total the project cost over half a million dollars. More than $300,000 went to Whitehorse-based Hvatech Systems Inc. The company is responsible for the fabrication and installation of the new signs. 

"It sounds like a lot, but it's really not" says Molly Keizer, a sheet metal and welding manager for Hvatech.

Keizer said the reaction online has been discouraging, especially for her young journeymen who are proud of their work. 

"They're disappointed to hear negative reactions, but I just keep reminding them the positive stuff doesn't end up on social media." 

Cameron Webber, a communications analyst with the Yukon Tourism and Culture department, said the original signs may have looked fine from a moving car, but up close, the wood was rotting.

"We thought we'd have more trouble getting them out" said Keizer. "But a stiff wind could have blown [the sign] over." 

She said the new signs are made of aluminum panels and galvanized steel. 

The Yukon government said it's been 25 years since the signs were replaced. They had been refurbished many times, and further revamps were determined to not be cost-effective. 

One aspect everyone seems to agree on is the incorporation of murals by local artists inspired by the regions where the signs will be installed. 

Laurel Parry, a retired Whitehorse resident, previously worked for Yukon's Tourism and Culture department as manager of the Arts section but was not involved in the greeting sign project. She worries artists and local business owners could be hurt by the social media backlash.

"I think if people were a little more kind they would see they might be hurting people's feelings."

 As a nearly life-long resident, sometimes Yukoners struggle with change, she said. 

"What I compare this to is when they tried to take the gold panner off the licence plate and everyone went snake crazy," Parry said. 

She said she wishes people would do a bit more research before getting emotional.

"It's just a sign to take a picture in front of."