Will mayor Fischer do the right thing?

by | Mar 7, 2014 | Advocacy

The story is about two questions: – Will KY Transportation Cabinet the violate the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution by closing to pedestrians the Clark Memorial bridge? – Will mayor Fischer take a stand for a walkable, sustainable, healthy, pedestrian friendly Louisville? The merging of bicycles with cars & trucks on the bridge is a wonderful idea. It will result in calmer/slower/safer traffic. Another irony…this morning there was a head-on collision on the bridge. Traffic needs to be calmed....
Letter sent to group working on the K&I/Big4 bridges

Letter sent to group working on the K&I/Big4 bridges

by | Mar 6, 2014 | News

Letter sent to group working on the K&I/Big4 bridges. The group is comprised of County & Louisville legal staff, mayors’ offices (both sides of river), L Waterfront Development Corp, engineers, planners, citizens, etc. The letter : The proposed unconstitutional closing of the Clark Memorial to pedestrians presents an opportunity to open a second pedestrian/cycling bridge – the Big4. Multiple crossings of the Clark Memorial are planned next week, challenging it’s closing. Preparations for legal action are also underway. We are going to make Louisville a walkable city. The legal action is avoidable if: some concrete is poured in the next couple of days into a 50’x50′ section of road at the end of the IN Big 4 the Big 4 is then opened to the public and a 24/7 shuttle is provided for pedestrians by KYTC/Walsh on both ends of the Clark M (it is unreasonable to ask pedestrians to add an hour to their crossing or   pedestrians & cyclists be allowed to use the Clark M or, if we want to get fanciful, pedestrians & cyclists be allowed to use a protected, dedicated lane on I65 Of course the Big 4 lighting issues might be raised as an objection, but given the poor lighting on the Clark M, that argument is specious. Oh, pedestrians are going to demand access at Thunder, every year. You need to know that this communication is bcc:ed to several others. We look forward to solving a problem with you. Thank you. Jackie Green   Photo...

Old & New Louisville Bike Tours

by | Mar 4, 2014 | News

Recent article on Louisville bike tours foretells the Louisville bike tours the Bike Courier Bike Shop on Market Street will offer beginning this spring. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014302280049...
Closing bridge to pedestrians is unconstitutional

Closing bridge to pedestrians is unconstitutional

by | Mar 4, 2014 | News

Plans to close Clark Memorial Bridge to pedestrians cannot be allowed to stand.  Several years ago Jackie Green led a group that assured pedestrians and cyclists would have access across our state line (the Ohio River) during the week leading to Thunder.  As WDRB put it, “a little research revealed the bridge closing was likely illegal. “It is a civil right to cross a state line,” Green says. “Folks who do not own cars, whose travel is done by foot or by bicycle, were denied their constitutional right, and that was  the leverage we used.””   (see WDRB story below) The current plan to close the Clark Memorial to pedestrians also conflicts with the US Constitution.  There at least two solutions: 1) let pedestrians use one of the lanes designated for cars, or 2) open the Big Four Bridge. http://www.newsandtribune.com/x2039937824/Clark-Memorial-Bridge-to-narrow-next-week-will-close-in-May http://www.wdrb.com/story/10197152/second-street-bridge-not-closed-to-everyone​ Photo by staff of News and...

Density vs Parking

by | Feb 17, 2014 | Advocacy

Louisville’s fork in the road… Density vs parking, Pedestrians/public transit/cyclists vs cars, Sustainable neighborhoods vs 1950’s planning. Clifton, like Cherokee Triangle, is wrestling with the question of sustainability. As long as we continue to let cars dominate local transportation, Louisville looses as a competitive 21st century city. Irony travels full circle in the article on the widening of Preston Highway in Bullitt County. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20140214/ZONE01/302140088/clifton-ready-apartments...
Finally, some planning for the Riverwalk!!

Finally, some planning for the Riverwalk!!

by | Feb 13, 2014 | News

Once again, with a mouth full of words about our local economy, Greg Fischer gives our tax dollars to out-of-town (out-of-touch) consultants. This latest design consultant proposes we erect a costly (to design/build/operate/maintain) ferris wheel on the Riverwalk when Louisville already has a ferris wheel at the fairgrounds (ask them about maintenance costs). In September 2012 Jackie Green of Bike Couriers Bike Shops began lobbying for the opening of the K&I bridge to human powered transportation. See: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Louisville-Full-Moon-Bike-Ride/280337165413233 He assembled a team of local engineers, local landscape architects, local urban planners and local designers who volunteered to work on the K&I project and the Riverwalk that links Louisville to the K&I bridge. Metro did not respond to their offer. It became clear that the owner of the K&I bridge, Norfolk Southern Railroad, was not going to open the bridge to the public until Louisville committed to a first class Riverwalk.   Green published a critique of Fischer’s lack of commitment to the Riverwalk in Insider Louisville. See: http://insiderlouisville.com/news/2013/12/30/tale-two-bridges/ The last sentences of that article apply equally well to the Riverwalk. Keep the park elegantly simple, commit (as opposed to plan and then shelve the plan – remember the light rail plans?), be transparent. Oh, and Greg, if you are going to talk about local, act on it....