Pointy tail on Penticton fish sculpture raises safety concerns

PENTICTON – A City of Penticton beautification project in the form of a sculpture on Lakeshore Drive will be relocated after safety concerns were raised.

While the city hasn't heard of anyone getting hurt by a metal fish sculpture recently installed on the Okanagan Lake promenade adjacent to a crosswalk near the SS Sicamous, crews have placed four orange pylons and some pink tap around the pointy tail protruding from the installation entitled White Sturgeon.

City recreation business supervisor Kelsey Johnson says they have recognized potential safety risks with the current location of the sculpture, which was installed on May 12.

“We have placed a temporary boundary around a portion of the sculpture while we work with a third-party installation contractor to have it moved to a different location,” Johnson says.

The sculpture will be placed on a part of Lakeshore Drive where it will not impede pedestrian traffic, while at the same time drastically reducing the risk to the public, she says.

Johnson says the city is leasing the sculpture for one year.

It will probably cost less than $200 to move it and that should happen later this week or next week.

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