Build it, and they will come

As they said in Field of Dreams, build it and they will come - although from reading the quotes on IMDB, it seems that the actual line was build it and he will come. They sounds much better when you're talking about building bike paths.

I stopped to have a look at this map that the council has erected to tell residents why they're ripping up the road. I puzzled over it for a moment, unable to figure out what this map was showing, until I worked out that it is upside down. The first thing they taught us about mapreading in the army was orientate the map to the ground. According to this map, I am standing in 10 feet of water.


Planks and lumps of 4x2 - always evocative of proper work being done. Manly work. Yes, there is the odd chick at this site, but they tend to be limited to holding Stop signs, rather than lugging heavy things around.


A work in progress.


The new path, waiting for first tracks to be carved into its obsidian surface.


As far as building it, they will blah blah blah, they don't have to worry about that problem in this neck of the woods. Foot traffic is so heavy around here during peak periods that people spill out onto the road. I'm surprised council didn't consider building a double-deck path.

As far as other vanity projects go though, many government constructions seem to have a large element of "Build it, and they will come" to them. Community centres are a case in point. I'm not sure who the "they" are that is supposed to come, but whoever they are, they seem to be in perennially short supply. Consider that next time a stimulus package is announced.