Longtime Madison architect Kenton Peters wrote a column for the State Journal last week lamenting the state Public Service Commission’s decision to allow the American Transmission Co. to run a new towering electrical transmission line along the Beltline.
He criticized the PSC, which is supposed to balance the public good with the interests of the utilities it regulates, for ignoring urban aesthetics in its decision.
….The 345-kilovolt transmission line, for instance, will be squeezed between the Beltline and an array of new buildings that have sprung up along the highway in recent years, not to mention the aesthetic damage to the Arboretum, Odana Golf Course and other scenic venues along the route.