Saturday, April 20, 2013

GOP Legislators Embracing Ugliness

It's a concrete fact:

Nothing these days says "Wisconsin" more than Interstate, cars-first blandness:

Republican lawmakers are making a move to end a state Department of Transportation program that funnels up to $15 million a year into murals, landscaping, stamped concrete and other aesthetic features to ensure community buy-in for road and bridge projects.
The GOP lawmakers are also targeting for elimination plans to install color-changing decorative lights on Milwaukee's Hoan Bridge. They say money for such projects should go toward roads.
Oc course, it you're building costly roundabouts as part of the I-94 interchange to nowhere in exurban Oconomowoc, nice plantings, brickwork and other amenities are a neecissity in case the shopping mall twice-cancelled are ever built:

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Theyre right. Colored disco lights? Only in Milwaukee

James Rowen said...

It's not unusual There are decorative approaches used on urban interstate ramps, bridges and walls nationally.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

The lighting of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, as just one example, has been considered a roaring success.

Neglecting the built environment and allowing it to devolve to the lowest common denominator, cheapest, ugliest levels of construction is a great way to look like the worst of the iron curtain.