It’s hard to imagine that the municipal government that the best Teddy Waste Award contender out of the City of Victoria may NOT be the years-late, millions-over budget Johnston St. Bridge, or the billion dollar boondoggle Seaterra.

At least bridges and sewage treatment are municipal responsibilities. This waste isn’t as big in dollar figures, but it’s just plain stupid.

The City of Victoria is spending $50,000 to beautify some of its parkades. Murals are planned – and an “interactive musical railing” for the back stairwell of the Bastion St. parkade.

An interactive musical railing. In a parkade. So people using the stairs can make music. Seriously. From the Times Colonist:

A new public artwork will allow people using the Bastion Square parkade to trade drum riffs and jazz licks.

The City of Victoria has approved installation of an interactive musical railing for the parkade’s back stairwell. The railing will be equipped with sensors that, as people’s hands run over it, trigger sound and light effects for each of the six floors.

There will be bird songs in the spring, jazz during the Victoria International Jazz Festival and seasonal music at Christmas. There will also be sampled drum sounds, allowing people to trade rhythms back and forth, said Scott Amos of Monkey C Interactive, which is creating the piece.

A series of LED lights, visible mostly at night, will illuminate the railing. The lights will also be triggered by sensors.

“It’s about people interacting with each other,” Amos said Wednesday.

“We’re going to allow people to compose and create. … We want it to be interactive and exploratory.”

Monkey C Interactive aims to have the installation complete before Dec. 31.

Each of the six floors will be equipped with a separate speaker. There will be a “dozen or two” railing sensors for each floor. Amos said there’s potential for thousands of sounds.

Why?

The city councillor speaking for the project, Pamela Madoff, claims the musical railing is “designed to ensure that civic parkades are safe and welcoming.”

The city of Victoria is a mess these days. Where’s the common sense? Spend money on necessities, not stupid gimmicks.