Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle says he supports people giving the "middle finger" to terrorism by decorating the city's new security bollards, and he is sorry if authorities have been giving "a hard time" to the artists responsible.

Mr Doyle told ABC Radio Melbourne he liked the bollard art, dubbed "boll-art", and saw it as "creative Melbourne people doing what creative Melbourne people do".

More than 200 security bollards were installed across the city last month to prevent the type of vehicle-based attacks recently seen in Berlin, London and Melbourne's Bourke Street.

Since then, Melbourne artists have covered some of them with brightly coloured material and painted graffiti art.

"It was with a pretty heavy heart that, in conjunction with the State Government, we rolled these out," he said.

"It didn't give me any pleasure to put them out there.

"To see a bit of a middle finger in the air to the reasons we had to put them, I reckon, is a good thing."

His comments came after one artist said he had been stopped by police on Saturday while adding to a bollard he painted with a Catwoman artwork outside the GPO building.

He said he was told by police to expect a summons in the mail for a graffiti misdemeanour.

About 200 security bollards were installed around the city to prevent vehicle-based attacks. ( ABC News: Andie Noonan )

On Tuesday, the council said it did not encourage people to paint on the bollards because they had been hired, and would be painted over.

But today, Mr Doyle instead put a challenge out to Melbourne creatives.

"I would say to people there are 206 of them, you've done a dozen so far, you've got a fair bit of work to do yet," he said.

"I quite like the subversive nature of people sitting at home and knitting little covers for them.

"I'm sorry if people are giving people a hard time over it."

Asked if he would speak to police about the issue, he said: "I think in good humour we can do that."

"Let's have this bit of expression of creativity while they're there. They're not going to be there forever … but while they are, why not have a bit of fun with them."

The bollards have been hired by the council from event hire company Harry the Hirer.

The council says it will consider starting a competition to judge the best "boll-art". ( ABC News: Iskhandar Razak )

Mr Doyle said he would speak to the company about whether they wanted the bollards returned in their original condition.

"If Harry the Hirer wants them back in their pristine concrete condition we've got graffiti cleaning crews that can clean the paint off, I don't see that as a great problem," he said.

"In the meantime, I think it's rather a nice statement of defiance by the people of Melbourne about why we've had to put them there in the first place.

"If they make people smile going past them rather than frown, I think that's a good thing."

Mr Doyle said the council would consider a competition for the best boll-art around Melbourne.

The ABC has contacted Harry the Hirer for comment.



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