City emails show why Lexington mayor’s street was cleared quickly after Winter Storm Fern
When Lexington residents expressed frustration that Mayor Linda Gorton’s street was cleared much faster than many other residential roads after Winter Storm Fern, city officials identified an apparent reason a few days later: driver error.
A photo from Beechmont Road, home of Gorton’s primary residence, was shared to the Lexington Reddit page on Jan. 31 showing the street was clear of snow and ice. The post drew engagement from hundreds of accounts. Beechmont Road is a Rank 4 street in the city’s snow plan, meaning it does not receive high priority to be plowed after snow and ice storms. The plan prioritizes what order roadways should be cleared first based on traffic flow.
When asked about the social media post on Feb. 3, spokesperson for the mayor Susan Straub said the Herald-Leader was engaging in “low, gutter-level journalism” for writing about the issue. Straub did not have an answer as to why the mayor’s street was clear at the time, but said Gorton would never ask for preferential treatment and did not currently live at the house.
Emails obtained by the Herald-Leader through the Kentucky Open Records Act show city officials didn’t initially know why the street was cleared, but they determined it was because a snow plow truck driver wasn’t correctly following their route.
“They determined that the driver in the area was running his route wrong,” Nancy Albright, Lexington environmental quality and public works commissioner, said in an email to Straub. “So he was going over the mayor’s block and yet missing other roads in the neighborhood. Hopefully that’s being corrected.”
City officials’ internal discussions about Lexington snow plan
Emails were exchanged back and forth about Beechmont Drive being cleared for a few days before the reason was discovered.
“So someone took a picture of Beechmont Drive, which is a (rank) four and then (took) pictures of other fours and is saying that the Mayor’s street was prioritized over other ones,” Rob Allen, director of streets and roads Rob Allen, said in a Jan. 30 email to Albright.
Allen also said in an email he assured local news station WKYT that it “wasn’t the case” that Gorton’s street was getting priority, and he didn’t actually know where Gorton lived at the time because she was in a rental and was not staying at her Beechmont home.
Straub emailed Albright on Feb. 4, asking, “Do you have any way to figure out why the mayor’s street — Beechmont — was cleared? Did we do it? Why?”
“I’m not out to get anyone,” Straub said in a separate email to Albright. “I just think it might help to find out why it happened.”
“I can try,” Albright responded minutes later. “I’ll have to work to see if we (gave) it extra attention even if unrequested.”
Albright asked Allen that same morning for all records and logs for trucks assigned to Beechmont Road. GPS records showed trucks pretreated and plowed Gorton’s block of Beechmont Road at least on Jan. 23, Jan. 25, Jan 26 and Feb. 3.
Not all vehicles used for winter weather include GPS technology, and even some GPS trackers did not work properly during the storm because of the cold temperatures, according to Straub. GPS confirmed the road was treated on those four days, and it could have been more, but there’s no additional GPS data or paper records to suggest that.
Albright confirmed with Straub on Feb. 5 that a driver was running his route wrong, according to the emails.
Straub did not offer any additional comment on this story.
Lexington’s response to Winter Storm Fern
Lexington’s response to the snow and ice was criticized by residents and other officials alike. Gov. Andy Beshear took aim at Lexington in a news conference Feb. 5, saying the city had back to back years of snow storm response that needed to be better, and also said the city rejected the state’s help to clear roads. But Gorton has denied that.
The hazardous weather and the effects left on Lexington’s streets also prompted Fayette County Public Schools to cancel in-person classes for 11 straight days.
Lexington has acknowledged a need to update the snow plan, and announced late last month it would hire a contractor to assist with snow and ice removal in the future.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
