Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has changed its policy (2p pdf) to cautiously endorse Modern Roundabouts. The Modern Roundabout is an intersection technology like "4-way stop" and "stop lights". However, in some places it will outperform these older technologies in almost every way.

Says "Making Places":

It turns out that roundabouts may be part of the panacea for our greatest traffic woes. Across America, towns and cities of all shapes and sizes have been choosing modern roundabouts over antiquated signalization equipment and expensive grade separated interchanges. The choice of a roundabout, or a modern roundabout, rather, makes sense for several reasons: they have proven to improve the flow of traffic, reduce cost, improve safety, and enhance the quality of place.

The roundabout in the video is right here in Kentucky, at Norton Commons. I rode it and it was a lot of fun. I'm so well-trained to STOP at intersections, it took concious effort to roll through the YIELD sign the first few times. The biggest revalation was just how relaxed everyone was about driving there. There were no Leadfoot Louies gunning it for the lights.

Read More to Learn Why is there no Truck in this picture!

[This is Part Two in a three part series examining alternative transit in the Bay and what can be applied to Louisville]

Walking in the San Francisco Bay area is a very foreign experience to a Louisvillian. It is a totally different endeavor altogether. Its not just that the engineering is better, but also its as if human nature is different.

We walked extensively in three different cities:

Berkeley - an upscale, quiet bedroom community for the rest of the Bay, but also the location of the UC Berkeley campus. Its the only place we walked where people actually lived.

San Francisco - We tromped around the CBD and Lil' Italy. Very built up, very good infrastructure, and a pedestrian tide of epic proportions.

San Jose - We 'strolled' the downtown -  but also hiked sprawl and through expressway interchanges into the the airport. Outside downtown, few appeared to walk, but there was still a strong effort to accommodate peds.

Key Details are Missing, Significant Work Still Needed;

Transportation coalition prepares to work for changes in draft legislation to meet Kentucky's needs for the 21st Century.

Download the Press Release.

Wednesday is T4America's National Call in Day. The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 is in play, and will determine the transportation system we have to live with for the rest of our lives. If you support transit, walking, and bicycling there is much to like in the new bill, but the bill lacks a clear strategy for reforming our transportation system, something like this. Tell your Representative "No new transportation money without reform."

Let's light up the switchboards. Here are suggested comments for making the call. You probably want to know the name of your Represenatiative. Here's a handy map of KY and IN representatives - though if you're in Louisville it is probably John Yarmuth (3rd), and if you're in Southern Indiana it's probably Baron Hill (9th).

HR 2724 sets 20-year goals for the federal transportation bill. They are goals we can really get behind:

1. Reduce per capita vehicle miles traveled by 16 percent.
2. Triple walking, biking, and public transportation usage.
3. Reduce transportation-generated carbon dioxide level by 40 percent.
4. Reduce delay per capita by 10 percent.
5. Increase proportion of freight transportation provided by railroad and intermodal services by 20 percent.
6. Achieve 0 percent population exposure to at-risk levels of air pollution.
7. Improve public safety and lower congestion costs by reducing traffic crashes by 50 percent.
8. Increase share of major highways, regional transit fleets and facilities, and bicycling/pedestrian infrastructure in good state of repair condition by 20 percent.
9. Reduce average household combined housing plus transportation costs by 25 percent, using 2000 as a base year.
10. Increase by 50 percent the number of essential destinations (work and non-work) accessible within 30 minutes by public transportation or 15 minutes by walking, for low-income, senior, and disabled populations.

UPDATE: CART and Bicycling for Louisville have both endorsed this bill, and are calling on Representive Yarmuth to endorse it.

UPDATE #2: T4America finally got off their duffs and posted on their website about this. They do a better job of explaining this than we do.

UPDATE #2: Added some pictures from the meeting, click Read More to see them.

UPDATE: A bicycle convoy will leave from Louisville to get safely across the 2nd Street Bridge. Be ready to leave at 10:45am from in front of Bearno's by the Bridge (NE corner of Main and 2nd).

You are invited to the Big 4 Bridge public workshop on Saturday. According to the flyer "this will allow residents to share ideas with the City and design team as well as critique ideas and concepts that are developed through this project. Everyone is encouraged to attend and bring their neighbors and families to participate."

Saturday, June 6, 2009
130 W. Riverside Drive, Jeffersonville - Brad Sprigler Design Studio
11am - 1pm;
formal presentation will begin @ 11:30am
come and go as you like

Its obvious what a big deal the Big 4 bridge will be. But in case you live on the moon or something: Jeffersonville is a lovely town, no farther from my home than, say, St Matthews. However, to get to St Matthews is a simple bike ride. To get to Jefforsonville is a harrowing journey over the Clark Memorial "2nd street" Bridge. As a result, St Matthews gets hudreds of dollars a year in shopping revenue from me, and Jefforsnville gets none.

But if Jeffersonville could be connected by a bridge that weren't such an ordeal, say one leaving from the middle of a park, then it would suddenly become a viable destination for a lot of people.

By combining a couple of transportation projects we've already built, and by uniting them with some on the drawing board, we can create an awesome new Southwest Louisville transportation corridor. You may have seen this graphic on the front page of USA Today last week:

How do we satisfy all these people without breaking the bank? Here are the pieces of the puzzle:

• Dixie Highway
• Downtown Multi Modal Station
• Riverwalk / Louisville Loop
• P&L Commuter Rail Line
• TARC #18 Bus
• P&L Commuter Bike Path
• AMTRAK Passenger Rail
• K&I Bike/Ped Bridge to New Albany

If you're viewing from the front page, click Read More to continue.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet "doesn't do" roundabouts. That's too bad because they are the silver-bullet miracle cure of medium sized intersection design. They have the following advantages over stoplights:

• Cheaper to operate for the state - no electricity bills to pay, no failure after ice storms.
• Cheaper for the motorists - they don't stop and idle, so they safe fuel costs
• Faster for motorists on average
• Safer for motorists - fewer crases and much less crash severity
• Safer for pedestrians
• Safer for cyclists
• Faster for cyclists on average
• Less ugly

"Make no little plans" -Daniel Burnham, by way of Barack Obama

You can read the announcement on the front page of www.whitehouse.gov.