Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Pont des Arts - As-tu un clé?



Pont des Arts
Do you have a key?


This pedestrian bridge is in the news this week.  
The bridge was closed for a period of time 
as the weight of the "love locks" was so heavy 
that it tore a portion of the railing away from the bridge.  
The city (or the mysterious lock-remover) 
has periodically pruned locks from this bridge
 and Pont de l'Archevêché, 
but they re-appear almost as quickly as they are removed.  



Pont des Arts
75001, Paris


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10 comments:

  1. RandyJune 11, 2014 at 12:38 AM

    I love the idea of the locks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JoeJune 11, 2014 at 5:37 AM

    I saw the news article Genie. The love locks are such a nice idea but if they are damaging the bridge it may be time for the mysterious lock remover to strike again.

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  3. RevrunnerJune 11, 2014 at 6:41 AM

    Yes, I read about that in just the past day or so. Seems like love has become--if you will-- a drag. Well, at least for bridges. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. biebkriebelsJune 11, 2014 at 7:18 AM

    They have to stop those stupid locks everywhere. We even have them in Amsterdam at our beautiful draw bridges, which will damage our heritage.

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  5. MJune 11, 2014 at 9:08 AM

    It's a romantic notion ... But sadly, they do damage ... I think the subtle pruning is the best answer to the problem as I don't think people will stop. Lovely photo :)

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  6. sillygirlJune 11, 2014 at 11:05 AM

    The city(s) need to encourage a safe place to do the lock thing - a lovelock statue as a piece of art away from bridges.

    ReplyDelete
  7. William KendallJune 11, 2014 at 11:40 AM

    It's doing damage to the bridges, and it's not the personal property of the people who lock these things on. I saw the remark in a news article about it being a visual cancer, and I have to agree.

    Perhaps a thousand Euro fine would be discouraging.

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  8. AlexaJune 11, 2014 at 2:52 PM

    Well, I hope they find the "key" to solving this problem! Sillygirl's idea is not silly at all—they could put a love-lock structure down on the quai near each of these two bridges and (as William suggested) fine people who still damage the bridge.

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  9. cieldequimperJune 11, 2014 at 4:26 PM

    What beats me is why you would lock your love...

    I've been horrified by them for years, hopefully now they will find a solution...

    ReplyDelete
  10. JeanieJune 11, 2014 at 10:32 PM

    I love the locks and have one (actually, it is probably long gone by now) but the more I read, the more I recognize the challenges that doing this presents to the city and the bridges. I suspect there is a viable solution that would work -- that or more aggressive policing and hacking them off... I think it looks absolutely beautiful and is a wonderful tradition, but sometimes traditions have to change to preserve what really matters. I fear this is the time...

    ReplyDelete

Merci for your comments!