Fresh pavement, sidewalks and a 12-foot-wide, two-lane bicycle track are in the works for a stretch of Lexington Road, city officials said.
The Lexington Road Corridor Transportation Plan has been in development since mid-2014 and will lead to changes on the road spanning from Grinstead to Baxter Avenue.
"The goals of the plan really are to design a safer roadway, to make it efficient for all users, to improve safety and try to provide transportation options and improve the quality of life for everybody that uses the corridor and also lives and works in the corridor," Sizemore said.
Another goal is to slow traffic and get vehicles moving at speeds closer to the posted speed of 35 miles per hour, he added.
Crosswalks, curb extensions and a change in road alignment will be among the additions and changes to the roadway, Sizemore said.
He said the current four-lane design with no median is "not safe for anyone."
A change in traffic travel design will ensure a decrease in traffic accidents, Sizemore said.
From 2011-2013, 128 reported traffic accidents happened on the stretch of roadway being considered, according to information provided by Louisville Metro.
Sizemore said the "preferred concept" that will be presented to the public will have a three lane roadway—single lanes of traffic in each direction with a center turn lane—a two lane cycle track along the south side of the roadway and a sidewalk along the north side.
"We have looked at this very closely internally with all of our traffic engineers and looked at cases around the country and come to the conclusion that this has many merits to being a really positive facility for us," Sizemore said.
A cycle track is a 12-foot wide paved section of roadway that will feature two way traffic and be separated from traffic by poles, Sizemore said.
The entire idea to reconfigure Lexington Road, which has a daily traffic load of about 9,000 vehicles, spawned from the desire to add a single bicycle lane, he said.
"Several of the residents and businesses along the corridor said, 'Wait a second, let's take a moment and step back and look at everything here,'" he said.
Here is a chart comparing average daily traffic totals for major roadways in Louisville:
The next public meeting will be at 5:30 p.m Tuesday at the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana building on Lexington Road. Actual implementation of the plan, such as paving roadways, isn't expected to begin until late 2015 or spring 2016, Sizemore said.
Sizemore said he expects some spirited conversation, as some residents have voiced concerns in past meetings.
"They're legitimate concerns, we understand their point, they're something we have to take into consideration," he said.
