Love Locks return to Saskatoon

Love will find a way. That is certainly the case when it comes to love locks in Saskatoon.

Months after the City of Saskatoon removed the locks from the Railway Bridge walkway, couples are once again locking up their love.

Seeing the locks, each inscribed with the couples names and date it was latched onto the walkway, brought a smile to Gina Hamill's face.

"I think it is fantastic. I think it's a great way for couples to show their love and I think it sort of decorates our city in an eclectic way. I think it's fantastic."

Hamill often bikes across the Railway Bridge with her son, Jackson. She was disappointed the city removed the locks in April.

"I think the people who had locks here and had them torn down should bring them back. I think there's plenty of room on this staircase to put them."

City has seen this story before

The city removed the locks this spring for safety and maintenance reasons.

In an email statement, the city's Director of Transportation Angela Gardiner told reporters in April:

"City crews can't do repairs or paint and preserve the staircase fencing if locks are attached. The locks have the potential to damage the fencing and in turn will cause unnecessary repairs which cost the City more. The locks are also a safety hazard if they rust through or come loose and fall to the path and parking lot below."

There are currently 16 new love locks on the walkway of the Railway Bridge. That's way too many for Gloria Van De Voord.

"I think it looks junky.Cluttered. Takes away from the beauty of the bridge."

Love knows no boundaries

Love locks have made headlines recently in Europeas cities like Paris and Moscow have tried to balance romance with maintaining heritage structures.

Last June in Paris, the Pont des Arts bridge started to buckle under the weight of thousands of love locks. Panels of the bridge are also being replaced due to the weight.

Moscow has erected iron trees to where couples can attach love locks instead of latching them onto a bridge that crosses the Vodootvodny Canal.

There is no word yet when work crews will climb the steps of the Railway Bridge and remove the latest round of love locks.

For Murray Atke, who walks across the bridge daily, these symbols of everlasting love could become just a regular part of his morning routine.

"I guess the city cuts them off and people just put them back on. It's kind of like graffiti I guess."