A safety officer for the Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board (WCB) will be looking at a 'temporary deterrent' in front of the off-sales at the 202 Motor Inn to determine if there is a safety issue.

Kurt Dieckmann, director of Occupational Health and Safety, confirmed this morning a safety officer would be looking at the site.

'We'll go and take a look,' he said.

While the barriers have been in place for years, the nails were put in place Sunday night, Keith Jacobsen explained this morning.

Jacobsen owns Coasters bar and also operates the off-sales location out of the 202 Motor Inn.

'It's a temporary deterrent,' he said. 'It's very, very noticeable.'

Jacobsen had the nails put in place in an effort to keep people from loitering in the area and asking others for money.

After taking over the space in April , he said he's had a number of problems in trying to keep 'undesirables' out of the location. Before Sunday, there was usually a group of about two or three people there at any one time, often sitting on the barriers in front of the off-sales outlet.

'It always seems fairly consistent,' he said of the number of people around the area.

Calling the RCMP or getting bar staff out monitoring the area only meant those loitering would leave for a bit and then come back, bothering tourists and locals walking by or going in for off-sales.

'It was kind of a never-ending battle,' he said.

While it's only been a couple of days, Jacobsen said his low-tech device seems to be working, though he did have to flip one of the nailed barriers this morning so that the nails were again facing skyward, after someone had turned it over last night.

So far, he said, this is the only thing that has worked, though he would like to hear more ideas on how to keep 'undesirables' away from his business.

Jacobsen is unaware of any laws preventing him from having the nails in place, though he does acknowledge the liability could be huge if anyone was ever hurt by the device.

Once the snow flies he plans to take the nails out and hopes that by that point, those loitering have moved on and won't come back.

'It makes a bold statement,' he said, after suggesting his regular customers are sensible enough to notice the situation and not sit down.

Looking at the liability, he said he had to weigh the risks for himself between that and his business. There were a few people he knew who wouldn't buy from the off-sales because of the 'undesirables.'

'It's really dramatic to my bottom line,' he said.

Some regulars who buy from the off-sales anyway and have been there since the nails were added to the barrier have mentioned how much nicer it is to walk into the store without being bothered for change.

Jacobsen stressed that he wants to make the area more comfortable for the general public and so far has received a mainly positive reaction for his efforts.

Dieckmann noted the WCB has a fairly limited jurisdiction which applies only to safety in workplaces.

Public safety concerns would likely fall under the jurisdiction of the city's bylaw department or the RCMP, he suggested.

The city's bylaw department has, however, referred the matter to the RCMP after receiving a complaint about it yesterday, bylaw manager John Taylor said this morning.

After receiving the complaint, Taylor said nothing could be found in city bylaws to prevent the business from having nails in the barriers.

Whitehorse RCMP Sgt. Grant MacDonald pointed out this morning it may be more of a matter that would come before civil court for the liability issues.