There’s concern that Langley’s newest piece of public art — the Clyde Alley Archway that connects Third to Second Street — may be susceptible to horseplay and injury. Better signage to help thwart would-be climbers may be one of the solutions to the problem, members of Langley’s city council say.

At an Aug. 1 meeting, Councilwoman Ursula Shoudy said she was wary of the potential risks the archway poses for children after witnessing a negligent parent letting her young child climb freely atop the artistic archway. Signs which read “Please Do Not Touch The Art” can be seen at the base of each the archway’s three components, though Shoudy felt they were inadequate in conveying the potential danger.

The archway was installed in June and constructed by artists Milo White and Lin McJunkin.

In a phone interview Wednesday, Shoudy suggested a more visible sign at chest or eye-level that doesn’t interfere with the art be installed. Because the archway resembles that which could be found at a playground, she said anything to help stave off a child from climbing it would be helpful.

“I think it just needs to be better posted, instead of at the base,” Shoudy said. “We want to protect our artwork, but that’s one that looks very inviting to children.”

Shoudy wasn’t alone in her concern. Talia Marcus, a Langley resident, thought the archway should be removed due to the potential for injury and what she considered to be an obstruction of a functioning street entrance. She said in a phone interview in July that while residents and kids in Langley are generally respectful, there’s no guarantee that someone won’t get hurt. Marcus also felt an injury could leave the city liable.

Adults also aren’t exempt from the lure of the archway, she said.

“I told them when I saw the mock up, I’d be tempted to climb it,” Marcus said.

Councilwoman Dominque Emerson said she would favor the installation of new signage. She agreed that there is potential for injury, though it’s ultimately up to parents to be responsible for their kids, she said.

“I’m more worried about the artwork being injured,” Emerson said. “A kid might climb all the way to the top and fall off. It’s not likely. They can’t fall through it.”

Councilman Thomas Gill shared Shoudy and Emerson’s concern, though he said it’s unclear if anything else can be done beyond installing new signage or an informational kiosk detailing the archway’s history and scope.

He said that the risk for injury rarely came up during the council’s discussion phase of the project.

“I think the council was looking at it from their own perspective of ‘Why would anyone climb on it? It’s art,’ ” Gill said.

Mayor Tim Callison said a watchful eye will be kept on the archway moving forward. He doesn’t see any reason to be concerned.

“I don’t think there’s any problem with it,” Callison said. “There’s a lot of places that children can hurt themselves if not properly supervised.”

Installing additional signage falls under the responsibility of the Langley Arts Commission, Callison said.

Commission Chairman Frank Rose said an information kiosk is included in the commission’s public arts master plan approved in May, though there is currently not enough money to create it.

If signage is installed, Callahan McVay, a Langley Arts Commission member, said in the commission’s meeting Thursday morning that the end of Clyde Alley could be a good location for it, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the view of the artwork.

“If you plaster it with signs, I don’t think it looks very artistic anymore,” McVay said.

He also said that the concern of running into the two outer portions of the archway, which appear like fins coming out of the ground, and damage that could be inflicted upon glass “cells” scattered across the archway are only valid to a certain degree.

“Well, the kids in town are actually respectful of a lot of stuff and if they want to break out panels in the archway, they can just throw a brick through the Braeburn window,” McVay said. “If they want to break stuff, they can.”

He added that drunken boaters coming up from the Langley marina are worse offenders, whom he said went through town knocking off flower pots, tipping a porta-potty on Third Street and various other infractions.

Another commission member, Jeannie Miller, said the piece isn’t “intrinsically dangerous.”

“If some kid wants to climb on top and fall off, he’ll climb on top of anything and fall off, not just a piece of artwork,” she said. “And we do have signs on it.”

“I don’t think it’s the responsibility of the city to try and train people to train their kids not to climb on it,” she added.