Taxpayer-funded $2m ‘embarrassment’ on the Gold Coast could be scrapped

UNIMPRESSED doesn’t begin to describe how locals felt about this taxpayer-funded “monstrosity”. Now major backlash could see it removed.

IT WAS a bizarre moment in Queensland mum Tamara Williams’ life when she whizzed past a mass of bright lights and yellow poles that sit between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

As she sped south down the bustling M1 earlier this year, she noticed the $2.1 million taxpayer funded artwork — which she has now come to describe as a “monstrosity” — and she was left just a little confused.

“It just looked like a whole bunch of lit up poles sitting in a slab of cement in the medium strip,” Ms Williams told news.com.au shortly after she spotted it.

“I actually had to look up what they were on the internet to find out what they were there for.”

This is what the $2m sign was supposed to like. Picture: Supplied

This is how it actually looked when the lights were switched on. Picture: Supplied

After a cursory search on Google, she discovered she wasn’t the only one who was perplexed.

The City of Gold Coast said the “gateway” luminous yellow poles would “bookend” the city and become an iconic “welcome” to visitors and “welcome home” for residents ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

The two artworks — one to the city’s north along the Pacific Highway and the other in the south near the airport on the Gold Coast Highway — were supposed to spell out “Gold Coast” and “GC”.

However, the eye-wateringly expensive signs — in particular the one to the city’s north — did not impress local ratepayers.

They said the only way you can read it is by standing stationary and directly in front of it — meaning it just looks like a yellow mess of poles and lights as you drive by.

Even the council’s mayor said the Pacific Highway artwork is an “eyesore” and a “waste of money”.

Some residents took to social media to complain, saying you can’t read the sign even if you are stood in front of it.

“The fact it looks like it is doubling up on letters from that perspective shows the artist went through the thought process of making the sign double sided,” wrote annoyed resident alongside a blurry pictures of the lights on Facebook.

It is still unclear what will happen to the north sign. Picture: Mike Batterham

“Yet he/she nor anyone else in the approval process seemed to comprehend the fact that the northbound lanes are going to get backwards text.”

Other angry ratepayers suggested the $2.1 million could have been better spent on hospitals, schools and roads.

However, now the community backlash looks like it may have forced the council take action.

A spokeswoman for the council told news.com.au this morning that a report is due back to council in coming months which will “outline options for the future of the artwork (at Yatala)”.

It is understood options include modifying, relocating or removing the controversial work — despite the lights only being switched on in March.

The news was welcomed by disgruntled Slacks Creek resident Ms Williams, who said the sign was a constant reminder of wasted taxpayer money every time she sees it.

“It’s good news, I guess … we’ll have to see what happens,” she told news.com.au. “But, it would have been better to not have not put it there in the first place. It’s just an embarrassment.”

City of Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said there was no issue with the smaller sign. Picture: Glenn Hampson

City of Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said the council has taken action because the artwork is an “eyesore, pure and simple”.

“The southern GC sign looks great but the northern one is a waste of money,” Mr Tate said in a statement. “There are few benefits as it is simply not working how it was designed.

“On paper, it looked great with the idea of the lights forming the name of our city. In reality, it is a nightmare to read.”

The debacle began when the Queensland government and the city council went out to a worldwide tender, calling on artists and designers across the globe to submit designs for entry statements.

The timing was due to the city hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and the council wanted a project that presented “signature entry statements”.

“An independent panel of artists and others assessed the entries,” Mr Tate said. “In my opinion, this is where it went wrong as we should have taken more control at that point.

“We didn’t and that was a mistake and we acknowledge that now and have made changes to our Public Arts Policy to get better Council input from the start.

Cr Tate says lessons have been learned. Picture: Adam Head

“The only positive is that it has created a change in how we allow these public art projects to be created. We will ensure a councillor is on any future panel, rather than the final selected art projected being presented to council as a ‘done deal’.”

It is still unclear what will happen to the embattled artwork north of the city. However, Mr Tate said the council can’t afford to spend too much on whatever it decides to do.

“We are looking at options now but the public will be pretty upset if we spend too much more money on this art project,” he said.