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Logan said the city has spent “at least a couple hundred thousand dollars” on glass repairs — 95 per cent due to vandalism — since 2012. That’s forced the city to replace and double the number of cameras trained on the bridge, he added.

“On one hand I’m thrilled that the bridge has been as well received and has become such an iconic symbol of our city, and because of that we want to keep it looking its best,” he said.

“(But) it’s very maddening when you see people who intentionally vandalize the bridge,” Logan said. “I don’t know why they’re doing it but it’s obvious that it’s intentional damage, it’s not accidental.”

The bridge sparked local controversy after city council approved its $24.5-million price tag and foreign construction just days before the U.S. banking crisis plunged the global economy into recession in 2008.

However, since its opening, the Peace Bridge has been cited in numerous design publications and quickly became an attraction for locals and tourists.

Photo by Trevor Howell

In October, crews began a month-long process to install 300 LED light fixtures — at a cost of $700,000 — to replace the original lights that, according to the city, regularly burned out during colder winter months.

Earlier this month, the city briefly posted a request for quotations for the supply and delivery of curved glass panels for a pedestrian bridge (the words “Peace Bridge” don’t appear anywhere in the 39-page document).

However, the city abruptly withdrew the request three days after Postmedia inquired about the document after it was posted online.

Logan said he cancelled the request over the optics of committing public dollars to the bridge, given its controversial past and the current economic malaise afflicting the city.

“Any expenditures by the department that I’m responsible for I want to make sure they are absolutely necessary,” he said. “I didn’t see the need for this expenditure at this point in time. We probably will in the future but we don’t need to at the moment.”

thowell@postmedia.com