If anyplace cries out for a billboard

it's the Riverside Porkway. As noted last week, the porkway is now open. And, with apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien and his halflings, it's eminently serviceable as a halfroad. Were I living in Delta, I'd be thrilled with the easy access to Mesa Mall. Pear Park, Fruitvale, Clifton — not so much. Now the municipal line is that, well, the project's just not done. Indeed. See above. And it may come to pass that the porkway will be part of a loop that surrounds the most densely populated parts of the city, but that's decades off. The worst part of the porkway, though, isn't the road itself. It's the territory. One has to wonder exactly what moved the Grand Junction City Council to preserve for vacationers, newcomers and sight-seers an unimpeded view of a railroad yard and industrial dumping ground. Is there something in the water here? When Grand Junction is derided by the fine folk from the Front Range, they always call it "Malfunction Junction." Why reinforce the ugly stereotype? Put up signs, lots of them. Why not let the movie houses, all of them, pitch their flicks? Why not allow the Museum of the West the opportunity to lead newcomers into the downtown shopping park? Anything would be better than the view of rusting boxcars, decaying tankers and decrepit ironworks, no? Or we could just rename it the Dogpatch Bypass. At least there would be some truth in advertising.