Lagoa council, the organiser of the city’s annual Wine Festival, has decided to move the event from the white elephant site of the Arade Conference Centre, to another council-inspired mistake, the bright red tarmac of the city’s market area.
The red wine stains will hardly show on the controversial surface that turned a normally cautious municipality into a regional laughing stock.
Dubbed ‘The Red Streets of Lagoa,’ the Municipal Market Street has been chosen as the venue for the April event, with the council determined to demonstrate that the area can be used for some purpose other than a focus for revulsion and mirth.
In an act of city planning that has entered the annals of urban follies, the roads around the market were covered in red tarmac and made pedestrian-friendly by allowing only one-way traffic, installing street-level lighting and paining white designs on the road surface.
The plan intended that more parking space would be created and the area would create an ambience that would lure people to the market and other local traders.
The council says that holding the Wine Festival in this outdoor venue, in April, is all part of the same strategy - date to be advised.
At least the festival will be moved from the hollow and sterile Arade Conference Centre venue. The council’s press release does mention the Candlelight Market, which apparently brought a large number of people to the Red Streets area.
