A crosswalk art installation in downtown Victoria that has majorly deteriorated since it was installed last year will be removed, according to the organization that commissioned it.

Last May, the Downtown Victoria Business Association, City of Victoria and Victoria 2020 spent $180,000 on a vision for the high-traffic intersection at Yates and Douglas streets.

Part of that vision included the painting of colourful puzzle pieces on the crosswalks and surrounding sidewalks.

But since then, the paint has deteriorated to the point that it is dull, dirty and faded – prompting criticism from the public on its shabby appearance.

“It’s fair to say that at this point, the way that it looks, nobody likes the crosswalk right now,” said Kerri Milton, Executive Director of the DVA, adding that not even the city likes the art anymore. “We’re very aware that it needs to go.”

Milton told CTV News that the DVBA has always planned to eventually scrap the crosswalk paint, but a date has now officially been set.

“This project was set up as a temporary 18-month project to do something interesting and exciting for this corner,” she said. “That expiration date is September 30th so now we’re in the process of looking at what worked and what didn’t work.”

She said the organization is reluctant to have it removed earlier because it’s the middle of the busy tourist season.

She also maintained that other parts of the project have been a success, including a bike shelter that has become so popular it will stay put.

Milton said the DVBA has no plans to paint anything else on the crosswalks, and the organization has learned from the 18-month experiment.

The $180,000 project was funded by the DVBA, the City of Victoria and Victoria 2020.