Bainbridge Island recently made improvements to a three-block stretch of its main street — “the cultural and commercial center” of this growing community. Most successful main street businesses have figured out a way to serve both the island residents as well as a growing number of tourists.
The flow of visitors arrives from the swelling Seattle metropolis, which is a mere 25-minute ferry ride across Puget Sound. It is reported that more tourists take the ferry to Bainbridge Island than visit the city’s iconic Space Needle. The trip is a relatively inexpensive way for a visitor to get on the water and sample the sound’s celebrated island life. The streetscape improvements were a response to this increased traffic and included wider sidewalks, parking, custom benches, elegant landscaping, and a low-impact drainage system that flows into a series of bio-swales.
The improvements were largely successful but exposed a few glaring lapses in judgement. By far, the worst decision was to save a few dollars and keep the powerlines above ground. The lines could have easily been placed underground while the sidewalks were being replaced. It is a tragedy to see visitors dodging poorly placed power poles as they pass in and out of quaint storefronts. Another lapse of judgement was to preserve several older “improvement projects.” The bench shown above may be sentimental to a few residents, but it diminishes the streetscape.
The bench planter was not designed well and has not aged gracefully — except for the bricks that are engraved with the names of the donors. It is not comfortable to sit on, and the black plastic sheet to inhibit weed growth is the most visible part of this eyesore.
When a community spends public funds to make improvements to our civic spaces, how do they decide what is worth keeping and what needs to be replaced? I can say with confidence that there isn’t a designer worth their salt that would have recommended keeping this bench. It was undoubtedly a few influential individuals who asserted themselves into the decision-making process. We all want to honor our history, important causes and the individuals that came before us, but perhaps a privately funded public bench is not the best option. If the reason this bench was built was so important, why wasn’t greater care taken in its initial design, fabrication and maintenance? To preserve an object in our public spaces that object should have broad collective meaning, importance and be able to stand the test of time.