Aviemore loses last piece of its arty street furniture
Highland Council workers have removed the final piece of chic wooden street furniture erected in the Noughties as part of a £1.5 million village enhancement project.
A spokesperson told the Strathy last week that, with concerns growing over the rotten state of the wood at the information post just outside Aviemore Station and right beside a major bus stop, the decision has been made simply to go for safety and remove the piece before it could fall down.
There was alarm in January 2019 when one of the 18 designer lampposts did just that – inches from a row of parked cars at the Arcade on Grampian Road.
It was suspected that the design of the posts, which set tall, elegant timber columns in metal receptacles which had no drainage outlet, meant that all the other lamps were likely to be affected by damp rot as well.
An investigation confirmed it and they were all removed.
The lamps have all since been replaced by standard metal streetlights.
An investigation of the stylish information signpost last week confirmed fears that water which had gathered at the base, inside a metal bracket, was rotting the wooden column in just the same way as in the former lamps.
The community is how hoping that an alternative information signpost can be installed at the strategically important site at the transport hub.
Photos: David Macleod.
