It rises up from the ground and stands, an enigmatic and featureless monolith, vaguely suggestive of the one in the sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. It seems to inform us of … something … but we’re not quite sure what.

Or perhaps as in another popular film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where the main protagonist stares vacantly at a towering mound of mashed potatoes and utters in a state of profound bewilderment, “This means something.”

What, in actual fact, we are being informed of is the head-scratching ineptitude of the civil engineering planners who left a utility pole smack dab in the center of what is supposed to be a dedicated bike lane on Beacon St.

The presence of the ominous obstacle became painfully apparent after the designated strip of roadway was freshly painted in its present neon green, prompting cyclists to cry “foul” and stir up a hornets nest full of reactions from city officials and fellow riders.

Said officials – from the mayor, to city councilors, and so on – are calling for an explanation and remediation of the situation, whoever may be responsible for the unmistakable error.

The prevailing consensus seems to suggest that MassDOT, as part of its Beacon St. renovation project, is ultimately on the hook for both the blunder and the fix. One wonders, however, what with the recent history of prolonged road work and renovation in the city, just how long it will take for this one to be addressed and resolved, if ever.

Perhaps the incident can serve as a metaphor for what many perceive as then ongoing disarray and disorder in our streets as a result of all of these vexing projects.

That indeed, this means something.