琉璃神社鈥檚 new North End monument has drawn praise from city council.

Five themes are reflected in the structure: land, water, heritage, community, and 琉璃神社 depicted on multiple bands stacked together. It will be placed along Highway 97 between Eillison Lake and Old Vernon Road.

鈥淭his is the concept of movement and transformation,鈥� Stefan Johansson, parks and open space planner told council. 鈥淎s one gets closer the monument begins to reveal itself in more detail.鈥�

The monument will be an amber-gold colour and lit at night.

鈥淚t seems to be somewhat unique I haven鈥檛 seen that in other communities,鈥� Councillor Luke Stack said. 鈥淔rom my perspective, this will be an iconic sign.

Staff told council the monument represents a 鈥渨eaving together鈥� comparing it to the make-up and meaning of weaving of a basket and presented a video explaining its symbolisms.

鈥淚t鈥檚 beautiful,鈥� Coun. Loyal Wooldridge said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 woven the cultures together beautifully and you鈥檝e done an authentic job of integrating Indigenous Peoples into the design.鈥�

The budget is estimated between $700,000 to $800,000, however, a more accurate cost will be available when council looks at the city budget in December.

Although he liked the monument Coun. Ron Cannan took issue with the budget and had other criticisms.

鈥淭he main component of an entrance sign is a welcome and this doesn鈥檛 even say welcome. But I think there is too much going on for a vehicle travelling at 90 to 100 km/h across that busy road already, there鈥檚 concern for fatalities.鈥�

Cannan suggested the monument is better suited for an area such as Stuart Park.

鈥淧ut a QR code on it and somebody can click on it and watch the video that explains it. People driving by aren鈥檛 going to understand the symbolism and all the intricacies that you put into your video.鈥� 

The monument was one of three shortlisted by a panel of private and public design professionals earlier this year. The winning submission received a 90 per cent consensus in a secret vote.

Council approved the monument with Cannan voting against it. Construction is expected to begin in 2025.