LMPD’s 5th Division has organized a crime and safety walk tonight, Thursday, August 25 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Plan to meet at Meadowlark and Godfrey. Please plan to attend to get to know the officers who serve the community and help keep neighborhoods safe!

Across the United States and around the world, major efforts are underway to clean up and restore urban creeks and streams. Long neglected waterways have been brought back to life and become green urban environments. 

Beargrass Creek, which runs through much of D9, has great potential.  MSD’s Project WIN (Waterway Improvements Now) is an $850 Million project to bring the community into compliance with federal and state regulations by reducing sewer overflows into our streams, including Beargrass Creek.  More information about Project WIN is here:  http://msdprojectwin.org/About-Us.aspx.   The Clifton Heights Storage Basin, now being constructed between Drescher Bridge and Mellwood Avenues just north of Brownsboro Road, is one part of the project.  Information about it is here: http://msdprojectwin.org/Public-Input/Clifton-Heights-Storage-Basin.aspx.  Two more basins are planned in District 9, both off Lexington Road.  One will be located near the intersection with Grinstead Drive and the other on the former River Metals property just west of the Axis apartment construction west of Payne Street. 

As efforts are underway to clean up the creek, planning is also underway for further restoration and construction of a shared use path to link two existing paths, the Beargrass Creek Greenway and the Butchertown Greenway.  We need your input and involvement!  The first of three public meetings is Monday, August 29.  More information about it is below. Please make every effort to attend.   

We’d like to feature your sustainability story - a resident or business doing good things for the environment.  Riding the bus, bicycling, walking, gardening and more - our eNews will feature practices which can benefit all of us.  Send your story to Bill Hollander or Kyle Ethridge. 

Metro Parks and Recreation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host the first in a series of three public meetings on Beargrass Creek restoration efforts from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Monday, August 29 at the Douglass Community Center, 2305 Douglas Blvd.

Metro Parks and the Corps are partners in a planning effort entitled: “Beargrass Creek Trail Conceptual Shared Use Path and Ecological Restoration Plan.” The plan area will extend generally along Beargrass Creek from its confluence with the Ohio River to the area of the Grinstead Drive/Lexington Road intersection. As part of the planning effort, there will be three public meetings over the next five months to gather public input and to share the planning team’s findings, alternate courses of action, and final recommendations.

The intent of this meeting will be to seek public input on potential shared use path segments in the study area. A highlight of the meeting will be Eighth District Metro Councilman Tom Owen discussing the history of Beargrass Creek.

Thank you to the many D9 residents who came out last week for the Louisville Water Company’s meeting on its proposal to build a generator facility and access road on its property near the intersection of Frankfort and Stilz Avenues. Many good comments and questions were offered and received by LWC.   An article about the meeting by Martha Elson of The Courier-Journal is here:  http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/highlands-crescenthill/2016/08/17/water-co-defends-crescent-hill-generator-plan/88838284/. 

This week we have received a number of calls with concerns about changes supposedly coming to CSX Transportation freight trains in D9. We’re happy to say that most of the information, including a doubling of train speeds, is incorrect.

We have spoken with CSX Administration, and it has confirmed that the increased speeds (up to 49 MPH) will be on the Louisville & Indiana Line that runs from Louisville to Indianapolis. D9 might see some longer trains, but no increased speeds.

Click on below links to read more information about the Indiana changes:

Courier-Journal
CSX Press Release

Please mark your calendars for the 17th Annual Back to School Block Party at the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center, 201 Reservoir Park on Friday, September 9th from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.  Enjoy FREE Mellow Mushroom pizza, swimming, door prizes and family fun!  Make a child ID with LMPD, and check out Fire Engine 4 from the Frankfort Avenue firehouse.

We need VOLUNTEERS to make this event successful. If you are interested in volunteering or if you have any questions please contact our office at 574-1109 or email kyle.ethridge@louisvilleky.gov.

Click here to view our flyer and see a list of sponsors for the event! Youth door prizes are still being accepted. If you are interested in making a donation please contact the office at 574-1109. Thank you to sponsors who have already committed door prizes: A Reader’s Corner, Blue Dog Bakery , Carmichael's Bookstore , Crescent Hill Trading Company, Fierce Salon, Good Garbage, Heine Brothers' Coffee, Just Creations, Margaret's Consignments, McDonalds, Mellow Mushroom, Metro Parks, Red Hog Butcher and Reuse502.

Metro Public Works (MPW) is working on the following paving project in D9 this week. 

• Jarvis Way from Jarvis Lane to Brandon Road
• Brandon Road from Ridgewood Road to dead end

Preparations are beginning for additional paving and sidewalk repairs in D9.

Red Bull Flugtag challenges the brave and brainy to design, build and pilot home-made flying machines off a 30-foot high flight deck in hopes of soaring into the wild blue yonder…or more often, plunging into the waters below. It comes to Louisville this Saturday, August 27 at 11:00 a.m. at Waterfront Park. Flugtag, which means “flying day” in German, pushes the envelope of human-powered flight, but competitors need more than airtime to reach the podium. Teams are judged on three criteria: flight distance, creativity of the craft, and showmanship. This criteria has inspired flying tacos, prehistoric pterodactyls, winnebagos with wings and even Snoopy and the gang to grace the Flugtag flight decks! For more information, please visit: http://www.redbullflugtag.com/usa-louisville/en/index-home/.

The Crescent Hill Community Council has rescheduled the fireworks and some of the other popular 4th of July events for a “Mini Festival” on Sunday, September 4th, noon – 11:00 pm. Free events include fireworks, live music, children’s activities with bouncy houses, and outdoor cinema showing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  There will also be 20 juried artist booths as well as food and beer for sale. And don't miss the Silent Auction which benefits the Peterson-Dumesnil House Foundation! Join your friends and neighbors!

Volunteers are still needed to make this event a success. To sign up please email Melissa.mershon@gmail.com or visit:www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E0B49A8AC2DA13-crescent1       

As the Labor Day weekend approaches, families and friends are making plans to celebrate the end of the summer. Sadly, this festive time has also become a dangerous time for motorists, as many impaired drivers get behind the wheel.

For this reason, state and local law enforcement agencies are joining the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS) and officers across the nation for the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign Aug. 19 to Sept. 5. 

In 2015, the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) investigated 900 collisions involving alcohol or drugs, resulting in 296 injuries and 14 fatalities. During the Labor Day holiday weekend, there were 12 collisions involving alcohol or drugs, resulting in three injuries.  

For those in the Louisville area, Brown-Forman partnered with the Drive Sober Get Pulled campaign to support safe rides during the campaign time frame. Use code SAFERIDEKY for $15 off your ride with Taxi 7, Uber and CityScoot.

Please visit www.saferideky.com for more information on safe ride discounts.