Paris removing love locks from Ponts de Arts

[Morphine Prince 109,683]

The city of Paris will start removing padlocks from the Ponts des Arts on Monday, effectively ending the tourist tradition of attaching "love locks" to the historic bridge.

Visitors have been attaching locks with sentimental messages to the pedestrian walkway since 2008 in symbolic acts of affection. Some people further seal the deal by throwing keys into the Seine River below. The bridge carries more than 700,000 locks with an estimated combined weight roughly the same as 20 elephants standing on a bridge designed for pedestrian traffic.

Considered charming at first, the thrill wore off as sections of fencing on the Ponts des Arts crumbled under the locks' weight. The phenomenon spread to other bridges, creating two major concerns for the city: "degradation of property heritage and a risk to the safety of visitors, Parisians and tourists," the Paris City Council said on its website.

Graffiti, pickpockets and vendors selling cheap padlocks also became a problem, prompting many locals to avoid the once-picturesque promenade built in the 1800s under Napoleon.

The city launched an unsuccessful initiative in August 2014 to end the practice, urging visitors to instead take selfies on the bridge. Unsightly wooden panels were placed over the locks in February to discourage the practice for Valentine's Day.

Signs in French and English near the bridge said it would be closed for one week while the locks are removed. The effort will pave the way for a temporary "artistic intervention" until fall, before the final installation of protective glass panels across the bridge.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/30/travel/paris-love-locks-bridges-feat/

 

[Tokyo Rose 1,475]

It had to be done 

 

[Red 99,117]

Well, I guess one day they would have to be removed to give place to new locks

[JustPokeHerFace 2,564]

maybe they could suggest a new locks location that's somewhere on stable ground. 

[Bear 7,515]

Yea this had to be done if it was going to affect the safety of people. 

It'd be nice if they could do something with the locks though, maybe make them into a sculpture or art piece. It seems a waste to throw away 700,000 symbols of love when they could be made into a tourist attraction.

[Morphine Prince 109,683]

Yea this had to be done if it was going to affect the safety of people. 

It'd be nice if they could do something with the locks though, maybe make them into a sculpture or art piece. It seems a waste to throw away 700,000 symbols of love when they could be made into a tourist attraction.

​Yeah! They should create a "Love lock wall" somewhere in the city that's safe and have it as a historical tourist attraction. It could have a plaque saying "From 2008 to 2015 tourists from all over the world showed their love to each other on this bridge, now on this wall." 

 

[NewYorkCity 10,536]

Inb4 divorce increasing  

[PartySick 172,548]

They should make a place that's solely for the love locks thing. It's sad that they had to remove the locks  

[Ayesha Erotica 1,924]

When I was in Paris the Eiffel Tower was full of "grafitti" but hey have cleaned it all. They clean it regulary, I only saw graffiti with dates no older than two months. They had to do it!