Not so ‘Well Played’: Barrie councillors vote to remove slogans from highway signs

Barrie city councillors voted to remove the “Well Played” and “Well Connected” slogans from the city’s highway gateway signs, at General Committee, on Jan 20, 2020 (CTV Barrie Don Wright)

The "Well Played" and "Well Connected" slogans could soon be removed from the city of Barrie gateway signs along highway 400.

On Monday night, Barrie city councillors voted in favour of removing the slogans after Ward 9 Councillor Sergio Morales introduced the idea, citing negative feedback from residents.

"We frankly missed the mark," he said. "I think sometimes politicians, for some reason, they tend to double down. They can't seem to let their pride admit when an idea was a bad one."

He added, "We're not tone deaf. We are listening to our residents."

He said the removal of the slogans would allow councillors and the city to take a pause and reassess the next steps.

Other councillors chimed in, in agreement.

"I believe that Barrie needs a rebrand," said Councillor Mike McCann.

"I'm not sure they really speak to what this city's about," said Councillor Clare Reipma.

Only the slogans would be removed. The highway signs themselves, with the city of Barrie logo, would remain. But not all were in favour of eliminating the slogans.

"I think we have more important matters to be tackling than micro-managing our gateway signs," said Mayor Jeff Lehman. "I've seen some people who don't like it; I've seen some people who do like it."

Up to $2000 would be set aside to remove the slogans, but city staff says it would likely cost much less than that.

Councillors voted in favour of the slogan removal, but the motion will require a second vote of approval at city council next Monday.

"We listened to our residents, we listened to the feedback we have, and you're no longer are going to have to explain it to your friends from out of town," said Morales after the vote.