Hit-and-run crashes have damaged two public art monuments along East Rosedale Street in Fort Worth, leaving a nonprofit organization responsible for the landmarks facing thousands of dollars in repairs.
Arts Fort Worth, which manages nearly 180 works in the city’s public art collection, is now working to determine how the damage will be covered and when repairs can begin.
One of the incidents happened in April, when a driver crashed into a carousel-themed installation off East Rosedale Street near Mitchell Boulevard. The impact knocked down steel poles and damaged one of the hand-painted parrot figures.
Alida Labbe, public art manager for Arts Fort Worth, said the artwork is custom.
“All of these are highly custom. The parrots are basically hand-painted items,” said Labbe.
The extent of the damage surprised project managers, given the location of the installation.
Anne Allen, public art project manager for Arts Fort Worth, described the unusual nature of the crash.
“I am really surprised a vehicle got far enough up that fairly steep roundabout at such a speed to do the kind of damage that was done this time,” said Allen.
In a separate incident months earlier, another hit-and-run damaged a newer monument less than two miles west along East Rosedale Street. That piece, unveiled last year, now requires extensive repairs.
“The bus has a lot of autobody type work and inner structural things that have to be refabricated,” said Labbe.
Arts Fort Worth said repair costs for both pieces are expected to reach well into the thousands. The nonprofit plans to submit the information to the city’s risk management department to determine who will be responsible for covering the expenses.
Labbe said the city will evaluate whether funds are available through its self-insured system or if the public art program, which operates through the library department, will need to pay out of pocket.
“They get back with whether there is a pot of money available within that kind of self-insured system to make the repairs, or if the department, in this case, public art, who works through the library department, will have to pay out of pocket,” said Labbe.
A timeline for repairs has not yet been determined.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.