Who would have thunk it?  The striking white lines on both sides of the bridge linking the north side of South Haven to the south side were created out of garden variety PVC pipe.  Or at least, that’s what it looked like.

Attached to the railings and filled with glorious profusion of pinky red wax begonias, they made an ordinary bridge structure a delight. And very clever. Along with creating two visually striking horizontal white lines,   the pipes are attached on the rails so that they don’t protrude into the walking space.

This is important because the sidewalk on either side of the road way is only one person wide.  Wouldn’t want someone falling into the road and getting run over.

Isn’t this what good design is all about? Simple.  Solves the problem.  Visually pleasing.

The bridge spanning the Black River links the park, marinas and cottages on the north side of town to the bustling city center on the south.  On the gorgeous Labor Day weekend that I was there, hundreds of people, some pushing strollers, while others clutching dog leashes attached to every kind of dog imaginable, paraded over the bridge to get to an Art in the Park show on the other side.

If I were a “do-it-yourselfer,” I would have tried to figure out how to duplicate for my own backyard fence.

Good project for Martha, huh?