THE newly built bridge connecting Roseburn and the Union Canal has been defaced with graffiti, less than one month after opening.
The bridge, which was declared open to the public on 9 December, connects Roseburn in the west of Edinburgh to the Union Canal.
Yesterday though, one unnamed Edinburgh resident spotted that someone had already daubed graffiti on the side of the bridge.
Despite the vandalism, locals have been left divided on their opinions on the spray-painted tags, with some saying the concrete structure looks better now that it has colour to it.
An image shows the bridge from a short distance away, with colourful graffiti tags visible on the concrete towards the end of the structure.
Meanwhile, on the panels on the side of the bridge, a small tag written in black can also be seen, amid the blue frame of the crossing.
The Roseburn to Union Canal bridge was a £17m project that has created a safe and environmentally friendly route between the two areas of the city.
As part of the project, Dalry Community Park was also upgraded in accordance with a consultation with pupils at Dalry Primary School.
The park was also opened on 9 December, and a group cycle ride took place to commemorate the new infrastructure.
The transport and environment convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, was joined by cabinet secretary for transport, Fiona Hyslop, to cut the ribbon and open the route.
200 trees have been planted along the path, and further green development will take place this spring.
A local shared the photo of a bridged section of the path yesterday, with the caption: “Bridge at recently opened Roseburn to Union Canal path defaced already.
“There’s graffiti elsewhere too. Why do these people have to trash everything and what can we do about it?”.
Despite the resident’s rant, opinions are torn between whether this sort of defacement should be more strictly policed, or if it serves as art and improves otherwise “bland” pieces of architecture.
One user commented: “We keep building ugly concrete block architecture, honestly it looks better with the graffiti.
“The nice old stone bridge behind it I’d care a wee bit more about and folk who do this rarely do it on stuff like that.
“Tagging where folk just scribble their sign on everything looks s***e, this is better. We should make more of this sort of architecture into legal graffiti walls.
“Then you get much better art as folk can take their time. The one that used to be near Bristo Square was always amazing and the one down in Kirkgate now (whether legal or not) is also pretty cool.”
Another remarked: “I am all for it, better than some of the bland architecture going about.
“Does it really matter if it happens within a month of opening or two years after opening? Embrace it and let people show off their skills.”
But others weren’t as pleased, with one saying: “Just because there are some nice ones out there doesn’t mean this is good? It looks s***e.”
There are many legal graffiti zones in Edinburgh, and one section of panelling along the Union Canal is an unofficial tolerance zone lined with colourful murals by local artists and creatives.
