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Obama sidewalks

Obama sidewalks

The Stimulus sidewalks of Warren (RI) revisited

Remember the Miles of New Sidewalks, and Empty Stores I wrote about on July 6, 2010?

It concerned federal Stimulus Plan “shovel ready” construction of miles of sidewalks in Warren, Rhode Island, which were built pretty much just for the sake of building them:

Warren, Rhode Island, has new sidewalks from the center of town down Rte 103 to the Massachusetts border, almost two miles away. Thanks to the Stimulus Plan.

I have driven that road hundreds of times, and also have cycled the route many times.

I never noticed any particular problem with the sidewalks. I also almost never noticed anyone using the sidewalks, particularly once you leave the very center of town.

The road is a local main road, not exactly a walk in the park. But there are new sidewalks as far as the eye can see….

Warren, Rhode Island, also has plenty of empty storefronts. The sidewalks will not change that, and neither will the Stimulus Plan.

Here’s what the newly constructed sidewalks looked like in 2010:

[Sidewalks being built with Stimulus Plan, Warren, RI,  2010]

[Sidewalks being built with Stimulus Plan, Warren, RI, 2010]

We followed up with other Stimulus sidewalk posts, about Warren and elsewhere, because it so epitomized the make-work spending of the Stimulus Plan which, as we now know, didn’t have many “shovel-ready” projects:

When I was back in Rhode Island over July 4 weekend, we were driving back from Massachusetts off Route 195 onto Rte. 103 heading towards Warren.

I just had to stop and take a photo of how our precious multi-million dollar Stimulus sidewalks were doing. (Featured Image)

Not too bad. The folks of Warren, Rhode Island, still have their Obama sidewalks.

But there still are plenty of empty stores. And no one using the sidewalks.

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Comments

http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-ghost-towns-2015-6

Ah, yes, the wonders of centralized planning with other people’s money.

    Not A Member of Any Organized Political in reply to Ragspierre. | July 7, 2015 at 3:25 pm

    The Collective can never get enough of centralized planning to spend other people’s money!

    “Land-Crab Warren for Fed Pen Resident – 2016!”

“I never noticed any particular problem with the sidewalks.”

Have you ever known someone who would do an expensive kitchen remodeling every 6 years, just because they’re bored? This is like that, but with other people’s money.

“I also almost never noticed anyone using the sidewalks”

Think of the guy who never cooks, but purchases a top-end range and oven so his kitchen looks like it belongs to a chef.

Wow, professor! Your old town got sidewalks? We in South Kingstown only got crosswalks, some of which are now crumbling. They were done by a Mass outfit. I’m still trying to figure out how that helped me get stimulated.

    Not A Member of Any Organized Political in reply to RITaxpayer. | July 7, 2015 at 3:35 pm

    In my town the re-did streets that were in perfectly good repair – but by Democrat politicians homes….

    While streets that needed repair sorely 10 years earlier were left out…..

They’re not just sidewalks, they’re RSL EERs*.

*Rising Sea Level Emergency Escape Routes

One has to wonder if the IRS, the EPA, Hillary & Co. and the Holder DOJ keep email tape backups buried under those government vaults… I mean, sidewalks?

I rode a parade in Warren many years ago and the Main Street was torn up them, did it ever get completed? Mission Texas got new sidewalks within the last year or so. I assumed it was government money also fr the way the job looked when completed. Installed those nice handicap ramps at each corner but put palm trees and big planters in the middle of the walk, now a wheelchair can’t travel down the walk because of the obstacles.

Libs hate suburbia and everything that stands for it.
This reminds me, they were trying to introduce public transportation in San Fernando Valley a few years ago. Built a bunch of benches at “bus stops”. I’m not sure where it all went, but I didn’t see any last time I visited.

As a native-born Rhode Islander, I can tell you that the contractor who did this job almost certainly has an Italian last name, has familial connections with someone in state or (Warren) city government and/or with the Democrat Party, and/or has mob connections. This is how things are done there.

Like 90% of the WPA projects.
In the 80s Savannah, GA spent millions to restore a historic square the WPA “fixed” They spent millions restoring the BRICK sidewalks the WPA cemented over. They spent millions restoring the cobblestones the WPA paved over.
Obama seems to combine the WORST of FDR with the WORST of JFK.