Tear down this Wall!

Tiny section of the
"Great Wall" along
Montlake Boulevard 

"Something there is that doesn't love a wall ..."
--Robert Frost

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"    
--Ronald Reagan

Nearly every day, I walk down Montlake Boulevard from the Montlake Bridge as far as the Hec Edmondson basketball pavilion, before crossing over to the campus proper.  Since 2008, each such walk has taken me, for most of that distance, alongside a construction wall. 

The wall separates me from the on-going construction of the UW light rail terminal.  The wall -- although merely a chain-link fence layered with plastic sheeting -- is sufficient to totally obstruct my view of whatever interesting activities are occurring on the other side.

The station won't be open until 2016.  Presumably, the wall will continue blocking views until then.

If my safety were the reason for the wall, I wouldn't object.  But the wall, while sufficient to keep me from wandering into the site, hardly seems substantial enough to protect me on the sidewalk from any dangerous activities within. Why not simply a chain link fence? 

At first, the wall incorporated a couple of transparent plastic windows through which one could get a somewhat awkward glance at some of the construction activity.  Those windows have since disappeared.

Contiguous with the light rail "wall," and continuing from the light rail project to Hec Ed, is the on-going construction of the new Husky Stadium.  Here there is also a protective fence, covered with canvas.  But you can see through gaps in the canvas.  Furthermore, there are large gaps in the wall, allowing for vehicle access, where I can very nicely watch the rapid progress on the stadium, at least insofar as visible from the sidewalk. 

But who knows what goes on behind the transit "Great Wall," as its graphics call itself.  Infant sacrifices?  Worship of heathen gods?  Construction workers lying in the sun instead of working?  In the absence of known data, my brain grinds away fitfully, spinning out its absurd fantasies.

Don't get me wrong.  I love rapid transit.  I love light rail.  I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of trains in the university district.  But eight years is a long time for a large expanse of activity to be walled off from view, for no apparent reason.

So I plead. Nay, demand: Mr. Whoever, tear down this wall!  (Or at least puncture some more windows in it. Please?)