I've been thinking about the things we've wasted money on, and even with the perspective of time, some still bug me years later.
A prime example was when River Fields tied the state up in court to force an extra $300 million in taxpayer spending for a tunnel to extend the Gene Snyder to the Lewis and Clark Bridge. What a selfish waste of money. That same small group also blocked a proper exit and entrance ramp on Highway 42, adding miles, fuel costs and lost time for thousands of drivers traveling to and from Indiana.
Then there are those downtown bike lanes. They made streets narrower and probably bought a paint salesman a second home in Florida. I almost never see bikers using them properly. Ninety-five percent of the time, they're not in the lanes at all. They ride wherever they want, even against one-way traffic. They ignore street signs and traffic lights, though they're supposed to follow the same rules as cars. I'm not saying they make downtown more dangerous. I'm saying they ride exactly as they did before the lanes were painted. The lanes didn't change behavior — they just wasted money.
If we're going to learn from past mistakes, we need to remember examples like these. And I'm sure you can think of others where good taxpayer dollars went bad. Call us.
I'm Bill Lamb, and that's my Point of View.
