The tweaking includes more lighting, and safety considerations so kids (and adults) can safely interact in/by the water. So it would be true to say that no one has yet seen the finished piece – that includes the gardens, the walkway bridge, the water, the lights, the seating, etc. With the completion of the bridge, it is much clearer that the fountain is just one component of a new large community space.
I already find myself regularly walking to the area as a destination. In the past I would avoid Huron Street entirely.

The decision to create this space with art features blending with the practical storm water concerns was made in 2008. And the funding stream even before that. In 2011, different decisions would probably be made.
Meanwhile, we have it and it is far more interesting and enjoyable than I imagined it could or would be.

Yes, I’m publicly saying I like it.

Will the fountain and surrounding plaza and features continue to be controversial and draw criticism? Or will it be gradually absorbed into our city as a destination, a small treasure, a welcoming place.

Time will tell.

My last observation is imagining the new city hall with the same old regular planter boxes and impervious surfaces, with a bench looking out onto a busy Huron Street. We could have had that. But plain and ugly and uninviting and nonfunctional (normal?) has its own costs as well.

I’m happy that we can disagree and still enjoy our great city.