The Burnie City Council has unanimously rejected plans for pedestrian access to the city’s new ‘cheese sticks’ gateway artwork, citing highway safety risks and significant costs.
The decision, made at Tuesday’s council meeting, abandons a potential crossing that would have connected the foreshore to the highway median where the yellow sculptures stand.
Council staff confirmed the crossing project would have cost between $200,000 and $300,000 to complete.
Rejecting the idea, councillors expressed concerns about encouraging pedestrians near the busy highway.
A request to possibly increase the artwork’s brightness was also knocked back due to ‘dark sky principles’ that limit upward light pollution.
The state government provided a $1.25 million grant to beautify the city entrance, with the project ultimately costing $1.164 million for artist selection, construction, installation, landscaping and project management.
The remaining $86,000 will be returned as the grant must be finalised by June 30.
The project is locally nicknamed the ‘cheese sticks’ or ‘french fries’.
