Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Uglifying things

Try and swing down around Washington Park before the weekend. Take a look at the "protective fencing" that has been erected around various plantings.

Is that stuff UGLY or what?

I understand the need to protect the bushes and flowers and stuff from the trampling hordes that will be here this weekend for Gus Macker, but for heaven's sake can't we use something a little more attractive? The bright orange webbing around the Lincoln-Douglas monument would be (marginally) better than ratty old snow fencing.

So for a week we will have one of the prime entrances into Quincy bastardized and uglified by this crappy stuff.

Worst of all, we'll be subjected to it again and again this summer--as in summers past--with the various big events in the park.

Come on, Park District. Surely we can do better than THAT.

Please, please, please, invest in some NICE-LOOKING temporary fencing to protect these plantings!

Did I mention "please"?

3 comments:

pravoslavniye said...

Had a nice chat with Park Director Mike Parks this morning at the unveiling of the steel map frame for the Lincoln-Douglas debate site (impressive piece of work, by the way, can't wait to see it finished).

I mentioned that I hoped he wasn't put off by my rant about the fencing. He laughed and said "I think it's ugly too. Talk to Chuck."

Meaning Chuck Bevelheimer from the city of Quincy planning department.

So I did that.

Chuck agreed that the snow fencing is not the best looking stuff, but that it still had years of use left in it--and they had a lot of it.

I suggested perhaps they could simply slap a coat of paint on the stuff they are going to use in conspicuous places such as Washington Park and he said that was actually a good idea.

Here's hoping. A nice "white picket" effect would be at least tolerable, whereas the horrid ratty snow fence unpainted and unrelieved is just hideous.

Chuck did get that sometime glint in his eye though, pointing out that it's the Historic District so they are required to use Historic Fencing.

I countered that if that was the case they should then try to borrow some of the whitewashed fences from the Tom Sawyer Days down in Hannibal.

Again, here's hoping for a coat of paint before the big blues fests and other Washington Park activities this summer that use the fencing.

Mr. W said...

Hi Kevin,

I've enjoyed lurking, and I linked to your blog from mine. Hope that's OK!

--Rob Winslow

P.S. Hope the fence turns white ;-)

pravoslavniye said...

Thanks Rob, and anyone from CSW is welcome here. I actually talk about games once in a great while. Of course the specific Quincy stuff my be a bit provincial...or on the other hand people might say "hey that's not so different from where I live--the bastards!" :)