Sculptures were installed on Preston and West Wellie this past fall. What would the City do to protect them from winter damage?
I suggested adding 2×6 curb of boards about a foot out from the sculpture to protect it from errant sidewalk plows. Instead, the City opted for yellow fibreglass poles to alert snow crews not to “back stop” their plows (ie, don’t bang into these things, they are expensive!).
Note to Randall: the yellow poles are not part of the sculptures, and were not added to confuse you or make them less understandable. The Preston BIA still has interpretive leaflets that walk you by all fifteen pieces, the artist cj fleury tells of the people in the story behind each piece, making them come alive.
Oscar Peterson has the same little yellow poles. I hope they are sufficient. Rather spoil the photo ops though.
Which would not be a surprise.
The Oscar Peterson statue’s a great thing to have, and a great place chosen for it on the streetscape. Gonna be complicated taking good care of it, but this one will be worth the trouble, I think.
Thanks for the update on those yellow poles. Odd, but hopefully they work as advertised!
But a quick picky note: you use the short form “West Wellie”, by which I assume you’re referring to the entire stretch of Wellington St. West from Western Ave to Somerset Square hosting the 18 sculptures. “WelliWest” is the nickname that I hear being used more often, and it’s a bit more accurate.
As an official name, “West Wellington” doesn’t exist anymore. It used to be the name of the community association that covered homes near Wellington St. West between Island Park and Holland, but this summer, they renamed themselves “Wellington Village Community Association” to reduce confusion with “Wellington West” – the street and the Business Improvement Area – and Hintonburg, which is along Wellington St. West but ends at Holland.
Clear as mud? It’s not a perfect solution to many decades of confusion, driven by severed streets, muddy boundaries, and lots of politics, but we’re working on it.