By KENTON PETERS
The Beltline in Madison is not a thing of beauty. We all know that. But it has the potential to be greatly enhanced.
The powerful state Public Service Commission just erased that potential by authorizing construction of a 32-mile overhead power line along the Beltline.
This creates a challenging dilemma.
We need the power. The line should be built. But an overhead installation of massive support structures and multiple draping power lines will cause irreparable damage and denigration of the aesthetic character and civic beauty of our city.
Burying the power line would solve that concern but impose significant additional costs that the PSC says we can't afford.
Civic beauty and urban aesthetics are not superficial, philosophical issues. They are environmental issues affecting the nearly 300,000 people who live in the areas surrounding the power line. The PSC erred tragically when it gave higher priority to corn, soy beans and dairy cows in selecting an overhead design to run through dense urban areas.
This decision -- and the PSC's lame and patronizing statements to justify their action -- display a gross misunderstanding of the purpose of environmental protection and utter disregard for the culture of our city.
In Madison especially, civic beauty is a vital cog in the economic wheel that sustains us. It is the magnet that draws people, commerce and industry. It must be protected, preserved and enhanced.
Serious damage to the aesthetic character of Madison also has a cost.
The solution is to build the middle 10 miles of the 32-mile line underground, imposing an increase in cost of $150 million, half of the total cost to bury the entire line in developed urban areas.
An estimated 150,000 customers will benefit from this added power, so they must bear this added cost. The total cost to each customer would be $1,000, or $50 dollars per year for the 20-year period over which the builder amortizes the cost to build the line.
The per-month cost for each customer for this worthwhile measure would be $4.17 -- the cost of two bottles of water at a Badger game, or a gallon-and-a-half of gasoline.
All of us who use electricity and love Madison can endure this very modest sacrifice to have our cake and eat it too.
We must urge the city to appeal and modify this unfortunate and onerous PSC decision. To do less will condemn the vital Beltline corridor and adjacent areas to an eternity of ugliness and insult to the human environment.
Peters is a Madison architect.