An upcoming sidewalk project in downtown Louisville will change the look of the central business district. The City is currently working with Neel-Schaffer Engineering on a design to address some ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance issues.
The City will mesh this project with the task of replacing all of the traffic lights in town with mast arm signal poles which will give the business district a better look.
The scope of work will cover the two-block area of Main St., from Columbus Ave. to Church Ave. and will include clean up of crosswalks to address ADA compliance issues, removal of trees along Main St. and appropriate replacements, and addressing some traffic issues from side streets coming onto Main St., along with replacement of the traffic signals.
Mayor Will Hill said, “At all intersections in downtown where we have a pretty severe grade change, Neel-Schaffer is working with MDOT on a conceptual design to really clean up our crosswalk areas at every intersection, making them ADA compliant.” Hill added that the trees along Main St. have outlived their day, but the City could not go in and change things without the appropriate approvals. Hill said there must be a plan for replacement in place before the tree removal begins.
Hill continued, “We are getting very, very close. I am excited about what we can do, parlaying the traffic signals which will change the look of downtown.” He added that the entire City of Louisville has new street signs, except downtown Main St. Those have not been changed yet because they need to compliment the new traffic signals.
There are also issues with hazardous brick areas, broken planters and spacers in the sidewalks that will be addressed.
The project is in the final stages of design, and Hill said that he hopes the City can bid it out this spring with work to commence in the summer.
He added that most downtown businesses are aware of the upcoming project; there will be some inconvenience as the work moves forward, but the end result will be worth it. The City will do its best to work with everyone and only close certain sections at certain times.
The budget for this project is $400K-$500K, with the City self-funding parts of it and relying on federal dollars for other parts.
Hill said, “I am really excited about this project, because this one everybody is going to get to enjoy seeing every time they go through town.”
