September 1, 2013

Wreckage.

Post-game:

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This was the scene at the base of the pedestrian bridge crossing University Avenue near the football stadium yesterday, here in Madison. Alternate view:


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IN THE COMMENTS: Some people attribute the problem to a lack of trashcans, and I say:
As for the lack of trash cans, it seems to me that if people are going to tailgate before the game and appropriate a public space that isn't designed for picnicking, they need to carry out their own trash.

There are parking lots adjacent to this space, and anyone who partied at their car ought to have had their own trash bag at the car, left it in the car, and driven home with it.

But this place I've photographed is on the walk from their car to the stadium, so what happened here is, I assume, people didn't want to leave their containers at the car. They wanted to walk and drink, and then they didn't want to keep carrying the container, so they set it down on this ledge, which seemed convenient. Perhaps they sat there for a while, finishing their drink, before attempting the arduous haul up the steep stairway that you see in the picture.

That ledge was just asking for it.

But you'd like a trashcan there too, like an invitation to stage an entire party right here at the base of the bridge, where hundreds of people squeeze through during the prime times of going to and from the game. (Meade and I walked in the opposite direction both pre- and post- game, as we chose to walk downtown to the Farmers Market and in search of protests, and we could barely walk across, going single file, such was the crowd going to the game.)

And even if you can forgive people for setting their drink containers down on the ledge, in the absence of trash cans, do you not see the broken glass? There are shards of brown glass all over here, including some big curved points, here where hundreds of people, many in flip flops, many of whom have been drinking, will need to walk.

Sorry, this is wreckage.

29 comments:

fivewheels said...

I live in Chicago. Apparently you've never seen wreckage.

David said...

White Trash, I would guess. Overwhelmingly white.

Big Mike said...

Maybe Wisconsin needs to make "Picking Up After Oneself 101" mandatory for freshmen?

MadisonMan said...

@BigMike, given where that trash is, I question whether it's freshman. More likely: Out-of-town alumni. I will guess they're from Illinois.

Friday I was biking and there was a big pile of vomit in the bike lane at Park and Dayton. I had to laugh, thinking, Well, I guess the students are back.

JRoberts said...

College students care about the environment, unless it's inconvenient to them.

However, as I look closer at the photos, it appears the university doesn't provided much in the way trash cans/recycling bins. That would like a no-brainer for that location on game day.

kjbe said...

Some people's kids...

D. said...

Not a Tea Party event for sure.

ps Do you get much traffic from Althouse UK. As seen at a David Thompson link.

FullMoon said...

If they catch the savages who perpetrated this travesty, they should be sentenced
to clean the rust off that pedestrian bridge and apply several coats of paint to spiff it up.

I thought it was Detroit before I read the captions.

FullMoon said...

Wreckage is in the eye of the beholder.

dunce said...

I do not see any garbage cans in the picture.

madAsHell said...

How is anyone to know that "I was totally wasted, dude" if I put the bottle in the trash??

The Godfather said...

Just schedule a Tea Party rally after every game, and the place will be sparkling clean.

Jack said...

1 trash can visible in pic 1, outside the traffic pattern. But I'm sure first game jitters affected everyone's performance.

alan markus said...

Maybe the lack of garbage receptacles is due to security concerns?

alan markus said...

This was written after the Boston bombing:

<a href = "http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2013/04/world-without-trash-cans/5306/>A World Without Trash Cans?</a>

<i>In the modern terror era, major cities are all too aware of the ways attackers can use a piece of existing infrastructure to hide a weapon. Given this reality, what does a safe city look like now?

Some cities have already started to grapple with this question head-on. London, for example, began removing rubbish bins from its public spaces years ago.</i>

Not familiar with the area shown in the pics. Would that be high traffic pathway before or after the game?

Barbara said...

It's the same attitude as held by a person who would lean over and put his shoe on the desk of the Oval Office.

Ann Althouse said...

As for the lack of trash cans, it seems to me that if people are going to tailgate before the game and appropriate a public space that isn't designed for picnicking, they need to carry out their own trash.

There are parking lots adjacent to this space, and anyone who partied at their car ought to have had their own trash bag at the car, left it in the car, and driven home with it.

But this place I've photographed is on the walk from their car to the stadium, so what happened here is, I assume, people didn't want to leave their containers at the car. They wanted to walk and drink, and then they didn't want to keep carrying the container, so they set it down on this ledge, which seemed convenient. Perhaps they sat there for a while, finishing their drink, before attempting the arduous haul up the steep stairway that you see in the picture.

That ledge was just asking for it.

But you'd like a trashcan there too, like an invitation to stage and entire party right here at the base of the bridge, where hundreds of people squeeze through during the prime times of going to and from the game. (Meade and I walked in the opposite direction both pre- and post- game, as we chose to walk downtown to the Farmers Market and in search of protests, and we could barely walk across, going single file, such was the crowd going to the game.)

And even if you can forgive people for setting their drink containers down on the ledge, in the absence of trash cans, do you not see the broken glass? There are shards of brown glass all over here, including some big curved points, here where hundreds of people, many in flip flops, many of whom have been drinking, will need to walk.

Sorry, this is wreckage.

Skipper said...

I recall a "rule" of sorts from an old architecture class that space should be designed to accommodate human behavior rather than assume behavior will conform to the design. In other words, install some damn trash cans!

Tibore said...

The professor is dead on. This is one of the casual incivilities that infects society nowadays. Too few people feel any obligation to refrain from trashing a public space, arguing that it's not their problem. The fact that it's public makes it their problem, but that's ignored for the sake of convenience.

Carry your f*%&ing trash out, sports fans. If you love your game and your team's stadium, then maybe you should demonstrate it with some care.

RunningFromCancer said...

And don't forget about bikes - although that area looks like a pedestrian path - not a bike path. I am always shocked to see the amount of glass on the roads.
We actually biked to the game and had a flat tire on the way! We had to change the tube twice - first time was for the puncture and then while pumping the tube - we snapped the presta valve tip off and out came all the air - so we started again and were successful with the second tube!
If I were a betting person, I would say this deposit of cups and bottles and plates were not from students - but older patrons who get drunk and all of a sudden don't give a sh__ about anything or anybody other than themselves! Somebody else will clean that mess up!

Rick Lee said...

Re: London's trash cans ... it's been a while since I've been to London, but what I saw there was (back when they had regular IRA bombings) that they replaced the old trash cans with heavy cylinders that turned a bomb into a mortar that shot straight up... thus neutralizing the damage.

Rusty said...

Liberals are slobs. What else did you expect?

Ann Althouse said...

"And don't forget about bikes - although that area looks like a pedestrian path - not a bike path. I am always shocked to see the amount of glass on the roads."

It's definitely intended for bikes too. Note that long ramp.

Rick said...

Big Mike @ 6:40pm said, "Maybe Wisconsin needs to make "Picking Up After Oneself 101" mandatory for freshmen?"

Really? I mean, do you really think that fits into the Gender Studies curriculum?

Rick said...

Big Mike @ 6:40pm said, "Maybe Wisconsin needs to make "Picking Up After Oneself 101" mandatory for freshmen?"

Really? I mean, do you really think that fits into the Gender Studies curriculum?

Rick said...

Big Mike @ 6:40pm said, "Maybe Wisconsin needs to make "Picking Up After Oneself 101" mandatory for freshmen?"

Really? I mean, do you really think that fits into the Gender Studies curriculum?

kjbe said...

Football fans come in all stripes, Rusty.

gadfly said...

mrs e:

Bill Murray "stars in Stripes", game officials and Bucky Badger are wearing stripes, TEA partiers pick up their own trash so they don't need to wear stripes and the liberals that represent 75% of Madison residents should be required to stripe the pavement around Camp Randall. Groan, that about covers stripes.

Anthony said...

Does Wisconsin have an open container law? If so, that's at least partly at fault - you can't legally take your empties out with you.