Several Neighborhood Institute graduates (including September 2021 Neighbor of the Month, ,Betsy Ruhe!) and CFN board member Doris Sims were instrumental in helping bring the Phillips Lane Sidewalk Project to fruition. This project — which began in 2014 and came to completion in May 2021 — was recently written up in “The Works Week,” the weekly newsletter of Louisville Metro Public Works. It’s reprinted here with their permission.
All things are possible with planning and partnerships! For years, neighbors and visitors alike have seen missed opportunities along Phillips Lane. Phillips Lane is a vital connector between neighborhoods like Beechmont and Wilder Park and the Preston Hwy Corridor. It is also a significant hub of tourism bringing in hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to experience events at Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC).
In 2014, a group of neighbors supported by the Center for Neighborhoods undertook a walkability assessment of Phillips Lane. The neighbors identified issues impacting the pedestrian experience and set a list of priorities. They connected with Louisville Tourism, an entity with longstanding awareness of the unsafe pedestrian conditions along the corridor, and together began advocating for improvements. Despite years of delays and waning momentum, change was on the forefront and Phillips Lane was well-positioned for improvement thanks to the groundwork of the walkability assessment.
Starting in 2018, several changes occurred along the corridor igniting new partnerships and potential. First, KEC began a transformation in event planning and facilities management under the new leadership of David Beck. Next, Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) brought a “Trifesta” of music festivals with nearly 300,000 guests to KEC property (located on the former Executive Inn site) now called the Highlands Festival Grounds as a nod to the former Highland Park neighborhood. Finally, Metro Public Works began to revisit their process for sidewalk construction using a design-build-release process. This process allows the project designer, i.e. engineer, to work in tandem with the construction company, allowing for more efficiency, strong project management, and cost savings. In 2019, Steve Kurowsky, Engineer III, undertook design and estimation of the sidewalk creating a path for implementation in two phases with project completion in May 2021.
This sidewalk project is a model for not just pedestrian connectivity but also cross-agency connectivity. Thanks to a shared vision and fiscal support, this project will usher in shared success that translates into a safer more economically vibrant Phillips Lane for neighbors and tourists alike.
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