LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Bolling Avenue, near Park DuValle in west Louisville, is a minefield of potholes. The one-block stretch from McCloskey Avenue to Dixie Highway has roughly 13 of them alone, and some of them are wide and deep.
Talisa Thompson, who grew up on the street and now visits her mother there often, says driving down Bolling requires a lot of swerving.
"This street has been horrible for years," she said.
But Thompson has given up hope that conditions on the street will ever improve and has learned to live with the potholes, litter-filled alleys and warped sidewalks. Her 12-year-old daughter says the sidewalks are so bad, she fears she could twist an ankle walking around outside her grandma's house.
"It's crazy that it sounds this way, but it seems normal to me because I'm used to it," said Thompson.
Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey, D-3, is trying to change that.
"This movement has been about questioning and challenging the status quo," she said.
Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey, D-3. (WDRB Photo)
Dorsey and other council members say Bolling Avenue is just one example of the inequities that have oppressed west Louisville for years.
"What we have been doing clearly doesn't work," said Dorsey.
"We've been crying out for help for years," added Councilwoman Donna Purvis, D-5, who also represents a west Louisville council district. "I can never understand why we don't get it."
But Purvis, Dorsey and others are hopeful, because on Thursday, council unanimously passed an ordinance to guide future city budgets. It tasks city departments with considering equity when drawing up their future budget requests and goals through three steps:
- All departments must identify and articulate an equity vision
- All departments must state their equity goals using the S.M.A.R.T. framework
- All departments must list their key performance indicators
In other words, it asks Mayor Greg Fischer to put the city’s money where its mouth is and walk the equity talk.
“2020 was the year of talking and that 2021 should be the year of walking," said Councilman Jecorey Arthur, D-4, who was quoting Dr. Rick Jones, a University of Louisville professor.
With each city department’s equity vision spelled out, Dorsey hopes it’ll mean more attention and maybe more dollars for needier parts of town, like Bolling Avenue.
"Money is just a piece of it, but in stating those goals and casting that vision, we can ignite and incite and inspire a community to take action," Dorsey said.
Starting in the 2021-2022 budget year, goals and key performance indicators must be accompanied by a dollar amount.
Both Greater Louisville Inc. and Mayor Fischer have voiced support of the ordinance.
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