On Monday the 18 May 2015 the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle, announced that approximately 20,000 Love Locks placed on the Southbank Bridge, Melbourne, where to be removed. Two days later they were gone. In doing so the Melbourne City Council directly effected 40,000 people. On Thursday the 21 May 2015 a single father of two little girls, Kevin Neville, sent a letter to the Lord Mayor indic
ating that his little girls and himself would like their Love Locks back. http://m.theage.com.au/x/gh6aun
The Age newspaper ran an article on that day about the letter. The Lord Mayor's reasons for removing the Love Locks were in relation to the Council's concerns that the Bridge's structural integrity was potentially affected and that its safety was being compromised. It's been highlighted to the Lord Mayor that the Southbank Bridge's cabling sag can be eliminated by retensioning which is a simple procedure. Furthermore the Council itself holds events that place a greater structural effect on the Bridge, such as the annual "White Night", in which thousands of people congregate on the Bridge at anyone time along with substantial lighting equipment. Therefore...... are the public being mislead? It's not so much the cost of ones Love Lock taken..... it's the misleading information and the way the process was carried out. Major concern is the lack of opportunity the people had in responding to this issue. If you would like the Love Locks to be returned to Southbank Bridge....please like this page. With enough support the Lord Mayor may change his mind!
