The city is taking bids to create a master plan for Broadway between Shawnee Park and Baxter Avenue, officials announced Thursday. Mayor Greg Fischer said changing Broadway would benefit nearby neighborhoods and could boost economic development.
“When we do this, what we see is improved connectivity, mobility, safety and aesthetics,” Fischer said. “We also know, in talking to businesses, that it promotes economic development and it enhances quality of place.”
A Broadway redesign is part of Move Louisville, a 20-year plan that calls for a shift in how people move around the city — in short, fewer cars and more bikes, sidewalks and buses. Broadway is one of 16 priority projects for Move Louisville. Officials want to make the street more walkable and better designed for other modes of transportation, like biking.
Develop Louisville Director Jeff O’Brien said safety is the top priority in redeveloping the street, but plans for how the street would change are not set yet.
“As we get into this master planning process, we’ll start to do some analysis on the traffic and the bus counts and transit ridership on Broadway,” O’Brien said. “That will help determine whether or not we add bike lanes or whether we dedicate more space for pedestrians or use some space on the sidewalks for bikes.”
O’Brien said the city and state workers will review the proposals. He said the contract for creating the master plan could be about a half million dollars. Officials hope to hire consultants for the project by late 2019, and have a final master plan by spring 2020.
