What's the stupidest thing your city or town has ever done?

[Archae]

20-some years ago we in Sheboygan had 8th street closed off and bricked over, to make the "Plaza 8."

The city ended up losing many businesses, (including Walgreen's!) and lost a lot of $$$ to people who were injured when in the winter the bricks would raise, causing injuries to people who tripped over the raised bricks hidden by snow.

8th street is now back to normal.

I just read a park on the South Side that is bordered by three VERY busy city streets, our Parks Commissioner wants to build a volleyball court there. :wtf:

How about your city or town?

[KitchenWitch]

1. Turning 4 lane streets into 2 lane streets

as a "traffic calming" measure.

[Archae]

2. Now that's dumb.

No doubt increased exponentially the traffic jams and "road rage," right?

[KitchenWitch]

3. Exactly

I am no longer calm when I drive on those roads.

[SeattleGirl]

4. Bricking over streets and closing them to traffic in both

Eugene where I used to live, and in Seattle, where I live now. In both cases, businesses were negatively affected, and in both cases, the streets were re-opened to traffic.

[Archae]

8. That's what happened here in Sheboygan, with the "Plaza 8."

Like I mention above.

As to nowadays, we have Wisconsin's biggest asshole mayor, who is acting like Bush, putting his cronies into high positions even if they have zero skills.
Like the head of Sheboygan's parks, he has ZE-RO experience in running the parks.
So maintenance crews end up at parks that don't need any work, those workers sit around while parks that do need some work get neglected.
As is, Sheridan park is not used by kids and families, it's a hangout for dope dealers and gangs, and has lots of garbage strewn around it.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. electing bloomberg

[KitchenWitch]

6. what about Giuliani?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. that too...

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. Letting me live here

I give 'em hell. :evilgrin:

[REP]

10. "Flush Creek"

Trying to turn an open sewer runoff, called Brush Creek (a Pendergast project) into a riverwalk-type thing with boats and a fountain (called the "Shit Mister" or "Fecal Fountain"). The fecalform bacteria load is was something like 10,000X higher than allowed. Even after much money being pounded down the hole, raw sewage still runs into it when it rains.

[China_cat]

11. Proposing that all artists coming into the city

for the Spoleto festival be required to show medical certificates stating they were HIV negative.

Just the artists...not the tourists.

[Kellanved]

12. That's nothing

Forty-some years ago they closed off half the city and walled it in.

[ikri]

13. My home town went nuts in the 60's & 70's

The Newcastle upon Tyne city council looked at an area that contained Grainer Town:





And thought Hey, I know what this historic and beautiful architecture could do with! A huge ugly shopping mall



This monstrosity snakes its way through a huge part of the city centre and utterly fails to merge the city's 1830's architecture with the vile 1970's style. Even worse, they demolished a huge swathe of the original buildings to build it. In the 3rd image the original square had the 1830's style buildings on 3 sides, if you look closely you can see where they've knocked down 2 sides of the square and replaced the buildings with the new mall.

[Cult]

14. "Elects" Republicans.

Enough said.

[WCGreen]

15. Spent more than 1.5 Billion on two sports complex

so that baseball, football and basketball players and owners could get richer on the backs of the school system...

[Tracyjo]

16. We have touch screen voting machines now n/t

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. Spending taxpayer's $$$ to build a coffee house in the library and a

garish, sailboat shaped clock (think HUGH!!!11!!) in front of the city Hall.

[henslee]

18. LA -Build freeway sys. but not buy enough land to join the l34 w/ the l0I

or the l0l with the 5 in both directions, even though these freeways intersect. As a result, those heading north on the l0l (hollywood fway) must get off the freeway, ride surface streets and get on the l34 east(Ventura fway) Also, those heading East on the l34 must exit fway, ride surface streets to get on the 5 south. Just had to get this off my chest.