Photo

A section of the eight-foot-tall security fence erected along the western edge of Central Park ahead of a brief tour of the park by Pope Francis on Friday.Credit James Estrin/The New York Times

For days Upper West Siders saw signs of the impending visit to Central Park by the pope. There were the vendors hawking I ♥ Pope Francis T-shirts at Columbus Circle, a parking ban along the lower half of Central Park West, the removal of Citi Bike rentals. But nothing prepared them for the fence.

On Tuesday night, the Secret Service began erecting an eight-foot-tall black fence along the park’s western edge, from 59th Street to 81st Street — a mile-long barrier with only occasional openings for dog walkers, joggers and bird watchers.

While residents seemed to understand the security imperative involved in the pope’s visit to the park on Friday afternoon, which will last all of 20 minutes, some felt the temporary fence was overkill.

“It’s absolute chaos,” said Zoe Boyd, 39, a mother of three young children whose soccer practices in the park were canceled this week. “It’s blocking the park. I understand the security the pope needs, but I think this fence was unnecessary.”

Ms. Boyd, who lives on Central Park West at 86th Street, has also had to grapple with a new parking routine, since the police have imposed restrictions on the east side of Central Park West, where she usually parks. “I’ve been hunting for spaces on side streets,” she said.

Still, for New Yorkers eager to sneak a glimpse of Pope Francis, who has become a highly popular pontiff, the logistical challenges were largely tolerated. “It’s a very special event,” Mark Langowski, who lives on Riverside Drive, said. “And the minor disruptions, with the closures, is worth the occasion.”

In addition to the fence along Central Park West, there are metal police barriers lacing the lower half of the park, where Francis will ride his popemobile along the park’s West Drive. The barriers will be used to contain the tens of thousands of visitors who won tickets to the park appearance through a lottery.

The Secret Service, which has a field office in Brooklyn, has worked closely with the New York Police Department in the past on major events, including gatherings of the United Nations General Assembly. Security officials were set to erect an additional eight-foot “anti-climb” fence along the park’s Center Drive, just north of 59th Street and Avenue of the Americas.

The overnight fence along Central Park was just one part of an ambitious mobilization of security measures that include protection of the air space over Manhattan and the rivers. On Thursday afternoon, a beefed-up Coast Guard presence was visible on the Hudson River from the shore in Hoboken, N.J.

Preparing for the Pope

Section of the fence

already erected

Area closed Sept. 25,

from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Pope viewing

area (with ticket)

The papal procession through the park is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. on Friday. The pope will enter the park at East 72nd Street and cross over to the West Side, with the viewing area running along the West Drive from 72nd Street to 60th Street. The pope will exit the park at Central Park South and Seventh Avenue.

Secret Service officials have said in the past that the fencing, which they have deployed at national political conventions, served to separate people who had been screened via metal detectors from those who had not.

Some people who rely on access to the park for their livelihoods were worried about the crush of visitors on Friday. Leeland Allen, a dog walker, brought her charges — a Boston terrier, a shepherd mix and a golden retriever — through one of the entrances in the new fence. She paused to consider how she would reach another set of dogs on the Upper East Side on Friday afternoon, when more closings would be in effect on both sides of the park. “It’s going to be absolute madness,” she said.

For Daine Grey, a retired professor of experimental psychology, the mile-long fence on Central Park West obscured his view of an approaching bus. The chain-link-style fence rises on the sidewalk, between the curb and the benches that line the park’s stone wall. “It’s a pain in the neck,” he said.

Still, he said he was willing to put up with any security obstacles in order to allow the pope to promulgate his agenda. “I’m hoping that the message that this pope has been sharing with the world will have an effect on our national politics,” he said.

The fence will not stay around for long. Just as quickly as it went up, the fence will come down — starting shortly after the pope exits the park. Then the Central Park Conservancy, which operates the 843-acre park on behalf of the city, will face another crowd-control challenge: the 60,000 people expected Saturday night on the Great Lawn for the Global Citizen concert, a charity event featuring Beyoncé, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Pearl Jam and Sting.

“It is definitely a huge weekend for the park and the Central Park Conservancy,” Elizabeth Kaledin, the conservancy’s spokeswoman, said. “But we are up for the challenge.”