A local mom is urging City of Chilliwack officials to fence or fill in the pond where a four-year-old child drowned on B.C. Day.

An started by Jessica MacGillivray had more than 1,200 signatures Thursday morning, urging decisive action, as the community mourned the terrible loss.

MacGillivray, who lives nearby, said she's watched numerous toddlers make a beeline for that very pond, tucked away and invisible as it is behind hedges.

Although she knows the petition won't bring back that little girl, she hopes it might save lives down the road.

City officials confirmed they are "securing the site with temporary fencing," as well as evaluating the current approach to landscaping ponds.

After she heard about the accidental drowning, MacGillivray said she cried her eyes out watching the tragedy unfold, in the park where she brings her own children.

Just to know that someone brought their child to the park only to return home without her is agonizing to contemplate.

There are signs near the water feature that read: "Keep away from pond." But most toddlers can't read.

Chilliwack RCMP rushed to the scene of the Aug. 5 drowning incident at about 7 p.m. with B.C. Emergency Health Services, and Chilliwack Fire Department on their heels. CPR was performed soon after the child was pulled from the water unconscious and not breathing on the side of the leisure centre that faces the skate park.

Mayor Ken Popove also released a brief statement the day after:

鈥淭he news about this accident at the Landing Leisure Centre is absolutely devastating and our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this tragic accident.鈥�

But MacGillivray persisted with the idea that proactive changes to the site had to be made.

"This was completely avoidable if the City of Chilliwack had a fence around it in the first place."

It has been gratifying to see so many people joining her call for improved safety, many of them neighbours, who agree something needed to be done about the ponds.

"Rest in Peace, sweet baby girl," she wrote in her petition. "May this raise awareness in your name for the safety of other children in the future."