I'm not sure what to think of this one. After news blew up that Caroline Macfarlane's abandoned-bike-turned-art-project was facing a removal notice from the city, Councillor Gary Crawford (Ward 36 Scarborough Southwest) appears to have gotten involved in some capacity. Forgive the ambiguous language, but based on the document he sent out this afternoon, it's tough to tell if he's trying to save the bike or use the story's popularity to push another project. I suppose it might be a bit of both.

Here's a few snippets from the press release:

"I was really taken away by the whole idea. There are probably 1000's of unsightly abandoned bicycles in the City. Imagine if we woke up one morning and all these bikes were transformed into wonderful works of creative expression. What these artists have done has brought attention to how a small act of creativity can make the City of Toronto a more
beautiful place to live."

Okay, that sounds like a fair appraisal. But, here's where he's headed:

"In an effort to keep the momentum of Ms. Macfarlane and Ms. Nicholas' pink bicycle alive, Councillor Crawford is launching "10,000 Ideas for Creative Change in Toronto". Councillor Crawford is urging residents to log onto Councillor Gary Crawford on Facebook or Twitter and post ideas for creative change."

This citizen feedback idea might have some potential, but it doesn't tell us much about the fate of this particular creative project. Not only that, but the cynic in me can help but ask whether or not this all just a little bit self-serving. We are, after all, talking about a politician who has very little presence on social media (15 Facebook fans and 52 Twitter followers). And what happens if the bike is indeed removed? It'd be kind of a damper as far as the solicitation of other ideas goes, wouldn't it? Still, lest I come off as too cranky, I will say that the more positive attention the bike gets (of which this is an example), the more likely that it might get to stay put.

Photo by dan cronin.jpg in the theGentries Flickr pool.