Art aims to make parking meters safer
The usual metallic grey stumps of the old parking meter posts in downtown Saskatoon have taken on a new look this week.
Many stumps now bear crocheted covers, including a handful of posts at Fifth Avenue North and 23rd Street East. On a nearby traffic light post, there is a “manifesto” taped to it by the anonymous “yarnbomber,” explaining their motive. Yarnbombing, or guerrilla knitting, is not a new phenomenon. Installations of this form of street art have appeared across North America and Europe.
“I dedicate this soft sculpture art installation to everyone suffering from any form of visual impairment and especially my mother,” the note says.
The note encourages others to similarly cover parking meter posts or donate to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
It’s something the CNIB’s manager of vision rehabilitation in Saskatoon, Lee Pion, hadn’t heard anything about.
“Any time we’ve got these posts poking out with nothing, there’s certainly going to be a hazard for anyone who is blind or partially sighted. It’s just one more obstacle in the road that’s not very visible.”
The local CNIB hasn’t been told about injuries caused by any of the parking meter posts. Pion points to other hazards, such as low hanging trees that aren’t trimmed and garbage cans blown onto walkways, that pose a safety risk for people with visual impairments.
Andrew Hildebrandt, the city’s director of community standards, says the posts have an “out of place look,” but still have a function within the parking program.
They’re used to define parking spaces and signs are posted on them similar to hoods on the old parking meters when the stalls are temporarily reserved. Hildebrandt notes business owners can rent stalls in front of their businesses for a short term.
The city plans to transform the posts into way-finding tools with colourful stickers that have location information.
Some of the covered parking meter stumps on 23rd Street are missing caps, which Hildebrandt said was not acceptable. He said they sometimes become loose or aren’t replaced when signs are placed on them when the stalls are rented.
“When that did get brought to my attention (Wednesday), I directed my staff to get those caps on. They’re not meant to be left like that,” he said.
“That is a safety issue, we do want to get that addressed.”
In response to the “yarnbombing,” Hildebrandt said the city wants to co-ordinate with the CNIB on the best way to identify the posts.
“It’s definitely on our radar and we want to work with the right people so that we do it right.”