Art on the public tab

Seattle's propping up her aging facial features with several projects. The latest one is detailed here. I agree that the 10 acre corridor from Green Lake to Ravenna is ugly. Most everywhere in Seattle where I-5, or any freeway, span the city, it's a pit. But, is it worthy of a $300,000 facelift, courtesy of King County citizens? King Country Metro Transit is footing the bill for this project, which means it's being fleeced from John Q.'s pocket.

The Seattle PI article is ambiguous. Is the $300,000 for the whole project, which should spruce up the whole 10 acres, or for the first project, one block in length, which is what's described in detail in the article? I guess it is a rhetorical question, since I don't think any art project should be financed by taxation.

Imagine how cool this area could be if people who live there took the initiative to fix it up, and the nannies in Seattle didn't poke their noses into the project for once. Seattle isn't hurting for an artistic community. Seattle Tilth, or any of the other gardening associations through out the Puget Sound, could lend a hand.

It's interesting that no one's chatting up the under I-5 corridor near Safeco and Qwest Field for improvement. People live under that corridor, in ancient RVs and in the back of pickup trucks. If anyone needs some beauty in their lives, it's the folks that call this chunk of concrete home.

In the article, Barbara Luecke, project coordinator for 4Culture's public art program, stated."It's a divide and a barrier, and people want a connection." I'm sure that the same can be said for the people hunkered under I-5, because they don't have any place else to call home. How come she isn't clamoring for public funds to make this part of Seattle pretty again? Hhmmm.