I just finished editing Devin O’Leary’s “Odds and Ends” column. In this week’s installment, there’s a little item about a proposal for a 575-foot-high ferris wheel to be built in Berlin. If constructed it would be larger than the London Eye, which is currently the biggest ferris wheel in the world. According to O’Leary, the price tag is $200 million.This got me to thinking. The estimated cost of Albuquerque’s proposed streetcar system is $270 million. A lot of people don’t like the idea of spending that much money on something as frivolous as mass transit. Supporters, on the other hand, insist that the accompanying economic development would more than compensate for the expense. You know, Burque would look cooler, more modern, more desirable, so businesses would flock here, property values would increase, life would be better all around for everyone.But why not just build a giant ferris wheel instead? The biggest in the world. We could call it The Big Eye. It would apparently be cheaper than a streetcar system. It would make our city look cooler, more modern, more desirable. Businesses would flock here. Property values would increase. Life would be better all around for everyone.I’ve put at least five minutes of concentrated thought into this proposal, and I can’t see the slightest flaw in my logic.Ladies and gentlemen, buy your tickets here!
The Big Eye
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