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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2014 18:47:08 GMT
This has become a problem in countless cities around the world, and I am relieved to know that at least it did not start in Paris, but the "love lock" obsession has become a plague. I absolutely cannot fathom in the first place how a padlock could be considered to be a symbol of love, but really it is beside the point. People could have decided to use just about any other object to portray their love and the end result would probably still have been hideous. In Paris I have been seen plastic rags tied to the bridge by people who suddenly felt that something, anything was required as a token of their love. Anyway, I went to the Pont des Arts yesterday -- Valentine's Day -- because it was the first bridge afflicted in Paris and also because I had read that some company or other was distributing free roses to lovers (I also saw this at various BNP Paribas bank agencies around Paris, so it is becoming more and more difficult to determine what is really obscene in the commercial exploitation of such events.). The Pont de l'Archevêché next to Notre Dame is totally defaced in the same way, and the Passerelle Léopold Sédar Senghor (ex Pont Solférino) is also under attack. And I have seen locks just about anywhere in Paris in smaller numbers. Will the madness ever stop?
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Post by htmb on Feb 15, 2014 19:10:14 GMT
A good idea to start this thread, Kerouac. What a hideous practice of destruction this has become!
I suppose many of the new "lock vendors" were unable to support them selves via the found wedding ring scam, so they have turned to selling a different type of "object of love."
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Post by fumobici on Feb 15, 2014 21:00:14 GMT
Littering with an obnoxious twist. Padlocks can quickly be pried open with a long steel lever, but a still what a lot of work it would be. I saw this to a less alarming degree on one of the bridges spanning the Tevere in Rome. The local constabulary should at least harass the people selling locks in the immediate area.
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Post by lagatta on Feb 15, 2014 21:45:03 GMT
The locks should be systematically removed. Sometimes punishments like that are meted out to people who commit petty crimes. It is a form of the need to "act out"; people can't hold memories of being in a lovely spot with someone they care for, or write a poem - cripes, why can't they send e-mail or text messages to their friends instead? No, not like the psychopath who has a need to act out on violent or seriously harmful impulses, but still. I thought they started at the Ponte Vecchio, but the Wiki article says Ponte Milvio in Rome, and another bridge in the former Yugoslavia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_lockFools' names, like fools' faces, Are often seen in public places.
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Post by alfauk on Feb 16, 2014 13:04:56 GMT
Whatever happened to ''Take only memories, leave only footprints'' not to mention the pollution caused by the rusting keys they throw in the river.. Nice pictures of a terrible practice. i often wonder how many of those people declaring their love are actually still together!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2014 13:48:37 GMT
Here are how many locks go on the bridge in one day when they have to replace some panels.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2014 15:27:16 GMT
Jeez, shameful. I have a photo taken of myself on the Pont des Arts in about 1986. My horrid 80s style trousers are the only blemish on the landscape.
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Post by bjd on Jun 17, 2014 16:04:12 GMT
Saved, lizzy -- I can't see your photo.
I mentioned on another thread that I had signed a petition against those locks. They could station a cop there and fine anyone putting a lock on there, plus fine the lock sellers. That would at least pay for repairing the bridge.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 17, 2014 16:22:14 GMT
A pity, but the only solution I see is to replace the barricade with something solid - even tempered high density glass....
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2014 0:53:19 GMT
Glass would just invite graffiti with marking pen or paints.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 18, 2014 16:48:29 GMT
Oh heck! Sure would....what about railings made out of ropey safety net?
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Post by mossie on Jun 19, 2014 8:53:06 GMT
Now the craze has started, putting up a different material will not deter this defacing. Possibly the best way is to do nothing so that it makes attaching further objects more difficult.
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Post by bjd on Jun 19, 2014 11:03:43 GMT
Just letting it go isn't enough, mossie. One of the panels broke off because of the weight just the other day and had to be replaced. As you can see in the photo above, idiots started putting locks on again right away.
I still figure that if encouragement and prevention don't work, you have to fine people. Money speaks louder than words in so many situations.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 19, 2014 14:08:49 GMT
Fine people, and there could also be "community service" sentences - removing the bloody things.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 20, 2014 15:09:33 GMT
Ah! I have the solution! Send over a few scrap metal dealers from my city who will in a very short few hours remove all locks and make a buck or two. If only......
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2014 16:56:53 GMT
Our local undocumented people from the Balkans would love to do this, too. So if ever the authorities give them free rein, the locks will be gone within a week.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2014 18:23:05 GMT
If you thought the Pont des Arts looked bad, now it is looking even worse. Somebody has been cutting the fence to "free" the locks. So far, all the city has been able to do is to put plywood over the locks, probably to keep people from pulling off more lock and having "fun" dropping them on the boats or something. Has this made people stop defacing the bridge? Or course not! Now they are expressing their undying love on the plywood.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 27, 2014 20:47:12 GMT
That looks downright slummy. Disgusting.
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Post by mich64 on Aug 27, 2014 20:59:10 GMT
Something that started innocently has been taken to the extreme and now not only looks unpleasant is also a safety hazard. Perhaps they are trying to wait out this phase and once they see a decrease in the locks they will take it all down and hope people will move on to something else.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2014 21:04:37 GMT
And yet in the middle of all of the squalor, I saw people still attaching locks today and throwing the keys in the river.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2014 6:08:23 GMT
A friend of mine just got engaged in one of the most beautiful places on earth, a small village called Pieve Di Soligo in the Veneto. And to commemorate the event... She posted this proudly on facebook. Christ on a bike, it's all I can do to hold myself back from commenting. Otherwise, I'd attract all sorts of abuse from my community for being so unromantic. So I bite my tongue.
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Post by lagatta on Sept 10, 2014 12:33:23 GMT
I'd like to smack her, frankly.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2014 14:00:06 GMT
All of the electronic municipal signboards in Paris say "no to love locks" but I don't know if they have made any progress yet. I am going to have to return to the Pont des Arts, I guess, and see if those horrible plywood panels are still there.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 11:28:44 GMT
My early morning outings still allow me to have the bridge all to myself if I so desire. It did not take long for local artists to take over the plywood panels. The fences have now been cut in so many places that I liberated a half dozen locks and brought them home. I have now imprisoned the love of 12 people. The real reason for my visit was to inspect the city's new idea for eliminating the problem. They have put up two glass panels as a preliminary test.
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Post by mossie on Sept 23, 2014 13:46:42 GMT
Such a pity to see so perfect a place spoilt like that. Let us hope the glass panels are a success, I suppose the idiots will try writing on them.
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Post by lagatta on Sept 23, 2014 22:53:02 GMT
That breaks my heart; I've been at that spot many times and it was always so beautiful, even when I was sad.
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Post by htmb on Sept 23, 2014 23:55:04 GMT
I do not understand why the city of Paris does not make it illegal to deface bridges with locks. I would think with a law, signs announcing fines for breaking the law, and occasional stops by police and fines levied, these beautiful bridges would be more protected from what I see as vandalism. I don't believe enough people, mainly tourists, either know that they are vandalizing the bridges, or care. Is that way of thinking just too "un-French?"
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Post by bjd on Sept 24, 2014 7:55:34 GMT
The police in Paris could also crack down on those selling the locks. They are mostly fly-by-night guys.
A few notices saying it's illegal (in several languages) might also prevent other "lovers" from defacing bridges and monuments. If all else fails, fine them on the spot as they attach their locks. After all, there is time while they are taking selfies.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2014 11:04:15 GMT
Fine people, and there could also be "community service" sentences - removing the bloody things. Sounds like the best idea yet. Then perhaps install an electric "invisible fence" with a warning sign prominently posted.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2015 19:24:41 GMT
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