Traffic Plan for Oaks, Derby is Much the Same

by Stephanie CrosbyThis year’s traffic plan for the Kentucky Oaks and Derby will be much the same as in years past.LMPD Lt. Doug Sweeney says they’re making a couple of changes to the roads that will be shut down while race-goers leave Churchill Downs because of ongoing construction on Eastern Parkway. He says they’ll shut down the ramp from I-65 southbound to Arthur Street after the feature races to accommodate the thousands of people leaving the track.Sweeney says one factor that usually frustrates people about the traffic around Churchill Downs is that all traffic patterns are geared toward exiting the track after the signature races, so it’s difficult to get to the facility.“Often, people will come after the races to get their teenage youngster and they can’t get close to the track," says Sweeney. "Well, that’s because we’re sending tens of thousands of cars out of the track and we’ve kind of reversed the traffic flow.”He says the best plan is to look at the traffic plan online and make plans before the race on where to meet up afterwards.About 11-hundred LMPD officers will be working traffic detail and security this weekend for the Oaks and Derby.