Obama sidewalks

WILLIAM A. JACOBSON JUL 7, 2015 7:00 AM

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:

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:

• Can You Believe It, They Screwed Up The Sidewalks
• The Ultimate Walking Around Money (Boynton, OK)
• So We’re Buying A Sidewalk To Heaven (Woonsocket, RI)
• The Broken Sidewalk Parable (Lincoln, NE)

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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