A Louisville consulting firm has completed a traffic management plan for the city's new downtown arena.The firm Qk4 has been studying the parking inventory and traffic flow around the arena site, working on the plan with police and other agencies. It says there are more than 12,000 parking spaces within a ten-minute walk of the arena, well above the 9,000 required to accommodate a full house at the venue.The traffic plan was turned over to Mayor Jerry Abramson, who says the city has had plenty of traffic control experience downtown with Thunder Over Louisville."The first time we had Thunder there was a bit of confusion, and then the next time it got a little easier, and then next time it got a little easier. And finally 700,000 people figured out how to get in and get out in a very reasonable and comfortable way. I suspect the first event will be a little difficult and we'll tweak it," he said.The arena at Second and Main Streets will have the U of L basketball teams as its primary tenants. It's scheduled to open in November.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.