Once again the rich folks in Lexington are talking out of both sides of their mouths, and it really irritates me.
They claim that they oppose the sidewalks on Tates Creek Road because it will spoil the grass, because it will be dangerous for people to walk there, and because the people will be exposed to exhaust fumes. But we know better, don't we?
The truth is that they don't want *that kind* of people walking in front of their million dollar homes.
Whenever there's something proposed in Lexington that benefits the low-income folks who don't drive SUVs and don't own horses, it gets shot down. And the sidewalk proposal will probably fail in the city council tonight, because the city council is a bunch of spoiled rich kids who are more interested in having direct flights to Las Vegas and Martha's Vineyard than they are about whether their less advantaged neighbors are able to walk to work without ruining their clothes.
It's not even like there's a cost involved - this is a federal grant.
The number of completely ludicrous statements made in opposition to the sidewalk would be funny if it wasn't so disgusting.
"Sidewalks would destroy the greenery of the corridor and increase storm-water run off," said Steve Kesten,
... leaning against the side of his Lexus SUV that gets 7 miles to the gallon, downhill.
"I see no good reason for sidewalks out here, and neither do my neighbors."
.... Presumably because they all have SUVs, too, and so don't need to walk anywhere.
"My constituents don't see people walking along the road," Beard said, adding that when he drives along Tates Creek, "I never, I mean never, have seen anyone walking."
... Presumably because he was talking on his cell phone and drinking his Starbucks at the time.
Lexington is increasingly a divided society, with a widening gap between the rich folks that run the show and the poor folks who make up the majority of the population. Here's hoping I'm wrong about the council meeting tonight. At least this is a good sign.
What puzzled me when I first saw that picture in the paper is--What on earth does the word "impervious" have to do with the sidewalk dispute? I thought I knew the word, but looked it up to be sure. Looking it up confirmed what I thought it meant, but did nothing to enlighten me as to the signmaker's intent. Maybe he just thought it just sounded impressive??
We have the same issues here in Nashville, with the higher price sub divisions. Seems to be a real issue in all parts of the South.
I believe that "impervious" has to do with the fact that sidewalks increase water run-off problems, because the ground can no longer absorb that water. I acknowledge that this is an actual environmental problem. I do not acknowledge that it's a worse one than the SUVs and Hummers that cruise up and down Tates Creek Road.
Interesting, here in the Dayton area, the higher income areas have built beautiful sidewalks/bikeways along the streets. We have about 250 miles of connected bike paths. Being near a bike path or wide sidewalk increase property values here. I certainly, enjoy and take advantage of being able to safely bike to work, using the bike trail. The bike trail was one of the many reasons I moved to the Dayton area.
How can they see people walking if there are no side walks to walk on?
I see people walking and jogging on Man-O-War, why wouldn't they on TC?
--Moose