We had a circle about 150' in diameter as part of a traffic flow pattern in a residential Philadelphia neighborhood. It was full of weeds, trash, rats, and all sorts of untidiness. It was that way for years. The city would cut it once a year.
Our neighborhood got together and hit the whole thing with roundup, tilled it, planted it with annuals and perennials, and ground covers. We threw in a few brick pathways and two benches to rest.
We got fined for $5,000 per day until it was all removed. They waited until we were finished and letters of praise came into the city for their splendid work from motorists.
We had no authority to do such a thing. We did not have a DOT approved list of allowed plants. We did not have any surveying or erosion analysis. The benches they claimed were a hazard.
So now the city redoes the project. They spent over $300,000 to do far less what we did for about $1,000 and equity sweat of about fifty of the neighborhood volunteers.
That's how gubmint works.
If you want something truly screwed up you must involve government.
I notice Metro waited until Sunday to send workers out, paying those union workers double-time for destruction that could have been done the following day at half the cost. Of course doing nothing would have cost nothing, but then who cares when you’re spending someone else’s money.
What city?