|
There are all sorts of good
reasons to drive slow, chief among them, of course, being safety. That’s why I’m measuring progress regarding
my strategic goal to Reorient
the Transit System by the number of auto-related District 8 pedestrian and bicyclist crashes. From 2011-2015, there were 155 auto-bike/ped crashes
in District 8,
or on average 31 annually. My four-year
plan is to reduce this number by more than 50% by 2019, and to achieve zero
crashes by 2021, in accordance with the multi-national Vision Zero strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries.
My first initiative to
stop speeding through neighborhood (residential) streets is a District 8 Speed
Hump Demand Survey, which launched in May, and the results are partially in:
There are 309 streets in
District 8, 100 of which are speed hump eligible based on the city's guidelines. Fifty-two (52) streets responded to our call
for interest, and survey captains petitioned property owners over the last few
months. We’re still waiting on survey
results from 27 streets. The new, hard deadline for survey
captains to submit their petitions is Wednesday, November 1.
Of the 25 streets that
have returned their petitions, 18 are clearly OPPOSED to speed humps: Blvd
Napoleon (49.45%); Dahlia Ave (17.39%); Deerwood Ave (6.21%); Edenside Ave
(24.32%); Edgeland Ave (14.29%); Ellison Ave (8.33%); Fleming Rd (25.71%); Goddard
Ave (41.1%); Lancashire Ave (5.56%); Lauderdale Rd (14.41%); Morton Ave
(36.92%); Overlook Ter (17.14%); Roanoke Ave (18.06%); Valley Vista Rd (9.38%);
Winston Ave (19.28%); Woodbourne Ave (0.54%); and Woodford Pl (17.11%).
Three streets are TOO
CLOSE TO CALL, and my office will follow-up with property owners to make a
final determination of FOR or OPPOSED: Bon Air Ave (63.64%); Valley Rd
(57.78%); and Windsor Place (68.89%).
Five streets are FOR
speed humps: Carolina Ave (73.33%); Drayton Dr (70.83%); Emerson Dr, between
Lakeside and Dundee, which completed its petition under former Councilman Tom
Owen (84%); Ransdell Ave (77.55%); and Wellbrooke Rd (70%).
Beginning in November, Public
Works will conduct the necessary transportation engineering studies (traffic
volume, accident analysis, speed study, field review, etc.) to confirm
eligibility for all FOR-speed hump streets.
My office will then begin financing planning with the goal to fully
install all speed humps by no later than next fiscal year (fall 2018), and
perhaps as soon as spring 2019. Of
course, we’ll account for current and future District 8 paving plans in terms of scheduling. Thanks, Jasmine, for all your help with this initiative!
Speed humps aren’t the
only way to stop speeding, and neighborhood streets aren’t the only concern. You can now view the Scope of Work for the Baxter Avenue and Bardstown Road Safety-Focused Corridor Study I wrote about last edition in
this space and see that speed reduction is a top improvement concept, especially south of
Taylorsville Road and Trevilian Way. We’re
also in the early phases of a pilot project to designate one or more District 8
streets as Slow Zones, which could include lowering the speed limit to 20 miles
per hour, advisory speed limit and driver feedback signs (like on Willis Avenue,
in St. Matthews), curb extensions and other traffic calming measures.
I’m more than happy to
spend the time and effort – and indeed, some of your tax dollars – to address
this persistent and difficult problem. I
call on LMPD to help, by increasing speeding and traffic enforcement. Ultimately, however, the solution to District
8 speeding starts with you. A wise man once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't
stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I’ll add, “If you don’t slow down and always
yield to pedestrians, you could hurt somebody.”
***
For breaking news and information, please follow
me on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram. If you have a question or comment, please
call me at: (502) 574-1108 or email: brandon.coan@louisvilleky.gov (and copy jasmine.masterson@louisvilleky.gov). If you have a service request, please
use MetroCall 311 online to submit or check on it, and get in touch
with our office if you experience any problems.
Thanks very much.
Councilman Brandon Coan
|
