Executive

Waste of the Day: Throwback Thursday: Kentucky Spends on Sidewalks That Residents Don’t Want

Published

2 years ago

June 6, 2024

Topline: Most residents of Lexington, Kentucky never wanted a sidewalk on Tates Creek Road. They said foot traffic was “non-existent.”

But Kentucky gave them sidewalks anyway

But after 12 years of trying, Lexington finally installed the sidewalks at a cost of $1.7 million in 2013, forcing down wasteful spending like bad medicine. The money combined local, state and federal funding and would be worth $2.3 million today.

Most of the ordeal is documented in the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a white-hot spotlight on federal frauds and taxpayer abuses.

Waste of the Day Throwback Thursday Kentucky Spends on Sidewalks That Residents Don’t Want — Waste of the Day 6.6.24 by Open the Books

Coburn, the legendary U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, earned the nickname “Dr. No” by stopping thousands of pork-barrel projects using the Senate rules. Projects that he couldn’t stop, Coburn included in his oversight reports.

Coburn’s Wastebook 2008 included 65 examples of outrageous spending worth more than $1.3 billion, including the federal cash squandered on Lexington’s unwanted sidewalks.

Key facts: The Lexington government first tried to build sidewalks on Tates Creek Road in 2001, but the idea fell through after a lack of community support.

Lexington asked the federal government for help, which gave the city a grant in 2008 to combine with local money and raise $1 million for the project.

Immediate backlash

Backlash was almost immediate. One resident told the Lexington Herald-Leader, “I do not see any need for this and neither do any of my neighbors” because the sidewalks would “desecrate” the natural beauty of the road’s maple and pine trees.

Another said that “I don’t see foot traffic or anybody trying to create foot traffic there for any purpose.”

The project was soon delayed, but not because of its unpopularity. The Lexington government’s original cost estimate had ignored the need to buy land from private property owners in order to make the sidewalks wide enough.

Lexington appealed to yet another source: the State of Kentucky. Then-Governor Steve Beshear sent over $556,000 in 2013, which Lexington supplemented to complete the project at a total cost of $1.7 million.

The 5-foot-wide sidewalks stretched for 1.6 miles.

Lexington’s Commissioner of Planning Derek Paulsen said the sidewalks were necessary for safety. When asked why residents couldn’t walk on the grass, he explained that was not possible for wheelchair users.

The saga appeared to be finished until this April, when officials announced plans to build sidewalks on two adjacent streets.

Summary: If the main beneficiaries of a federal grant need to be convinced that the project is not a waste of money, the cash could likely be put to better use.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.

Adam Andrzejewski

CEO at OpenTheBooks.com | Website | + posts

Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-eff-ski) was the CEO/founder of OpenTheBooks.com. Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, FOX News, CNN, National Public Radio (NPR), Forbes, Newsweek, and many other national media.

Today, OpenTheBooks.com is the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Mission: post "every dime, online, in real time." In 2022, OpenTheBooks.com captured nearly all public expenditures in the country, including nearly all disclosed federal government spending; 50 of 50 state checkbooks; and 25 million public employee salary and pension records from 50,000 public bodies across America.

The group's aggressive transparency and forensic auditing of government spending has led to the assembly of grand juries, indictments, and successful prosecutions; congressional briefings, hearings, and subpoenas; Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits; Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports; federal legislation; and much more.

Our Honorary Chairman - In Memoriam is U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD.

Andrzejewski's federal oversight work was included in the President's Budget To Congress FY2021. The budget cited his organization by name, bullet-pointed their findings, and footnoted/hyperlinked to their report.

Posted on YouTube, Andrzejewski's presentation, The Depth of the Swamp, at the Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar 2020 in Naples, Florida received 3.8 million views.

Andrzejewski has spoken at the Columbia School of Journalism, Harvard Law School and the law schools at Georgetown and George Washington regarding big data journalism. As a senior policy contributor at Forbes, Adam had nearly 20 million pageviews on 206 published investigations. In 2022, investigative fact-finding on Dr. Fauci's finances led to his cancellation at Forbes.

In 2022, Andrzejewski did 473 live television and radio interviews across broadcast, major cable platforms, and radio shows. Andrzejewski is the author of The Waste of the Day column at Real Clear Policy. The column is syndicated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of nearly 200 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates across USA.

Andrzejewski passed away in his sleep at his home in in Hinsdale, Illinois, on August 18, 2024. He is survived by his wife Kerry and three daughters. He also served as a lector at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church and finished the Chicago Marathon eight times (PR 3:58.49 in 2022).

Waste of the Day articles published after August 18, 2024 are considered posthumous publications.