Attend the Final Public Meeting!

These are the final public meetings on the Bike Master Plan and Pedestrian Master Plan before Council takes them up for voting. They've been in development since the walking summit and the last bike summit. They've been evolved through a ton of public input and dogged determination on the part of Metro government (Thanks!). They should be adopted!

If you have ideas on how they can be improved, this is your last best chance. They'll have a host of interactive displays and developers on hand to explain and answer.

If you want to show political support for bicycling and walking, we're fairly certain that Council (and the new Mayor) will be setting priorities in part based on public turnout and support for these plans. So come to the one closest to you. Heck, come to two or three - can't hurt, can it? :)

• Pedestrian and Bicycle Public Forum Dec 6, 3110 Lexington Road
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Public Forum Dec 7, 6104 Bardstown Road
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Public Forum Dec 9, 460 Northwestern Parkway

More information at the links above.

CyclingProject365 breaks the story...

More pictures below the fold...

Bike Lanes are slated to be installed on both sides of Poplar Level Road from I-264 to Eastern Parkway. In a recent benefit-cost analysis performed by consultants for the city, Poplar Level Road bike lanes served the most citizens for the least cost of any bicycle lane modifications.

The plan calls for a "lane diet". The road is currently 5 lanes, with a 12' inner travel lane and a 14' outer travel lane. KYTC will modify the inner lane to 10', and the outter lane to 16'. Then Louisville will subdivide the 16' into two lanes: an 11' lane and a 5' lane marked for the exclusive use of bicycles.

[Edit: totally wrong information struck] The speed limit on the road is 45mph - a rarity these days within 264 - and there are not as many driveways and intersections as some roads, thus decreasing dangerous crossing conflicts that plauge bike lane safety. Furthermore, bike lanes are also planned on Eastern Parkway, which would tie even more destinations together.

Scott Render sends along a photo of the brand-new bike lane on 8th street.

In case you haven't noticed, the posting has been very slow in May, owing to this author's total commitment to Bike Month. :) YOU could author articles so this doesn't happen again.

Grab some popcorn and watch Dan Burden give one of the keynote addresses to the Louisville Bike Summit. He explains in stark detail why bicycling benefits not just athletes, but the entire community. MetroTV has the clip.

Note: Dan is the third speaker. The first speaker is Andy Clark from the League of American Bicyclists. The second is Mayor Jerry Abramson. The third is Dan, and he'll probably be of the most interest to cartky.org readers, though of course they're all good.

Hat tip to Bike Louisville.

The second Louisville Bike Summit is now history. Thank you to all the organizers, including the Bicycle Task Force, the tons of city workers who made this a reality. I think it managed to top its predecessor.

I don't have time to do a full write up, but to do a quick compare-contrast with Bike Summit I, I'd say that:

1) The city's planning process for bicycle improvements is now mature. Our engineering focus group looked at this process and the question was: "how can we improve the public participation process", to which the overall reply seemed to be "you can't beat this".

2) Enforcement is showing a *huge* improvement. Not hard since it was totally off-map as recently as two years ago. LMPD has a liason officer and is seeking to engage and work with the public on how it deals with bike enforcement.

3) I yearn for Public Transit Summit I.

If you have your own thoughts, you are welcome to post them in the comments.

Jon is leaving his position as Bike/Ped coordinator for Louisville. The position has not been eliminated. CART is sad to see him go, and wishes him success in his next endeavor.