Finally! The artistic sign was recently placed in the skate park after years of delays; it spent approximately one year of this in a DPW storage yard, just sitting. With a little help from our friends the sign was rescued, sandblasted and treated, and then installed by the City following months of debate in committees and so forth regarding whether this object was classified as a work of art or a sign — because, you know, it can only be one.
The safety of the sign, because of the jagged lettering, was called into question during that arduous process. This is remarkable given how many of our street signs are broken off, leaving inches of sharp metal to serve as tripping hazards on our sidewalks. If you look at our public art, there have been potentially risky temporary and permanent pieces — from the giant work made of guns that kids would climb on in Bushnell Park a few years back, to some of the items on the Plaza of Meh at Gold and Main. This is not an argument to childproof public art, but an observation of what gets a green light.
Location seems to be the sticking point.
After years of requesting an entrance gate to prevent people from driving cars into the Heaven Skate Park, one was installed a few days ago. Keeping wayward cars away from kids on skateboards should be a no-brainer and attended to with more urgency, yet there was a lag in adding this safety mechanism.
Feet have dragged again, for years, on keeping the park lights on so that kids can skate later — especially during the colder months when there are fewer daylight hours. It’s not about creating a 24/7 park, just one that can be used on days when the sun sets as the school day ends. Enabling a safe environment for youth should not be this challenging.
The Friends of Heaven group has tried to gain official recognition from the City. A Friends of group would be able to store park housekeeping equipment (rakes and brooms) on site. It could hold keys to the vehicle gate, opening it to vendors during approved park events. The Friends group application process is broken. To secure this status one must be a bonafide non-profit — a hurdle for those who do not have unlimited time and resources.
Then again, it may not be that Heaven is getting picked on. The vibrant flower and Clemente murals painted last autumn in Colt Park took four years to be realized, with an unreasonable number of approvals and committees along the way. To pass an ordinance that legalized a standard, seemingly uncontroversial practice in our parks — fishing — residents had to push for nine months.
Walter Veselka was appointed as the new DPW director in November 2018. He has the opportunity to fix some broken systems.
Look is a daily photo project. Every day, another look at Hartford, indoors and out. View the new and the odd, the pieces of what makes up the place in which we live.
Look: Sharp Edges
Finally! The artistic sign was recently placed in the skate park after years of delays; it spent approximately one year of this in a DPW storage yard, just sitting. With a little help from our friends the sign was rescued, sandblasted and treated, and then installed by the City following months of debate in committees and so forth regarding whether this object was classified as a work of art or a sign — because, you know, it can only be one.
The safety of the sign, because of the jagged lettering, was called into question during that arduous process. This is remarkable given how many of our street signs are broken off, leaving inches of sharp metal to serve as tripping hazards on our sidewalks. If you look at our public art, there have been potentially risky temporary and permanent pieces — from the giant work made of guns that kids would climb on in Bushnell Park a few years back, to some of the items on the Plaza of Meh at Gold and Main. This is not an argument to childproof public art, but an observation of what gets a green light.
Location seems to be the sticking point.
After years of requesting an entrance gate to prevent people from driving cars into the Heaven Skate Park, one was installed a few days ago. Keeping wayward cars away from kids on skateboards should be a no-brainer and attended to with more urgency, yet there was a lag in adding this safety mechanism.
Feet have dragged again, for years, on keeping the park lights on so that kids can skate later — especially during the colder months when there are fewer daylight hours. It’s not about creating a 24/7 park, just one that can be used on days when the sun sets as the school day ends. Enabling a safe environment for youth should not be this challenging.
The Friends of Heaven group has tried to gain official recognition from the City. A Friends of group would be able to store park housekeeping equipment (rakes and brooms) on site. It could hold keys to the vehicle gate, opening it to vendors during approved park events. The Friends group application process is broken. To secure this status one must be a bonafide non-profit — a hurdle for those who do not have unlimited time and resources.
Then again, it may not be that Heaven is getting picked on. The vibrant flower and Clemente murals painted last autumn in Colt Park took four years to be realized, with an unreasonable number of approvals and committees along the way. To pass an ordinance that legalized a standard, seemingly uncontroversial practice in our parks — fishing — residents had to push for nine months.
Walter Veselka was appointed as the new DPW director in November 2018. He has the opportunity to fix some broken systems.
Look is a daily photo project. Every day, another look at Hartford, indoors and out. View the new and the odd, the pieces of what makes up the place in which we live.
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