Capital Avenue runs through the heart of the South Frankfort neighborhood. It leads to the Capitol building, the second most popular tourist destination in the county and most important place of doing business in the state. However, just as important, it serves as a neighborhood street for the hundreds of people that live in the surrounding blocks.
Capital Avenue connects homes, businesses, schools and government. It is also a popular route for runners, walkers, parents strolling with their children, tourists going to the Capitol and cyclists. In fact, people from around the city drive down Capital Avenue just to go on a leisurely or exercise-driven walk because of its beautiful setting.
Diane Strong
Despite its charm and draw, there are some significant challenges. It is common for drivers to speed through and rashly weave back and forth between lanes. There is sometimes drive confusion over right-of-way at some of the intersections. Pedestrians often feel unsafe crossing the street and there is nowhere for bicyclists to feel secure when they ride along it.
Similar to many neighborhoods across the city, speeding traffic is a serious problem for pedestrians along Capital Avenue. Multiple lanes and high operating speeds make Capital Avenue feel more like a highway rather than a road passing through a residential neighborhood. In addition, there are blind spots caused by parked cars and two lanes of traffic making crossing most intersections on foot (or even in a vehicle) dangerous.
WalkBike Frankfort has proposed changes to the city to correct these issues. The proposal includes changing one travel lane to a buffered bicycle lane in each direction, adding crosswalks and controlling intersections with stop signs.
The buffered bicycle lanes will provide a safe spot for those riding (including tourists on e-bikes). However, they also provide a safe buffer between traffic and parked cars making it easier (and safer) for people to get in and out of their cars. This will especially help those parents loading up their kids from the daycare located on the street.
The new changes will help with visibility at intersections and shorten distance for pedestrians to cross traffic. Finally, the reduction in lanes and introduction of stop signs will reduce the amount of speeding, making it safer for everyone.
These changes are meant to improve the feel and overall safety for those driving, walking, biking and using other micromobility modes. They will benefit the residents of the neighborhood as well as those visiting on leisure and business. This project will dovetail nicely with the changes underway along Second Street and serve as a model for reducing speeding in neighborhoods across Frankfort.
Diane Strong, of Frankfort, is WalkBike Frankfort president. This column is also submitted on behalf of the board of WalkBike Frankfort. Strong can be emailed at dianestrong@ymail.com
I am however, very much in favor of building and repairing sidewalks. I see people actually using the sidewalk everywhere that there is a sidewalk. I think that is a better investment.
I am going to say again, more bike lanes are not the solution to every problem in this town. We have other needs and being able to navigate and get where you want to go is becoming an increasing issue. And, people that drive cars pay taxes to use the roads, cyclists do not. I rarely, if ever, see anyone using the existing bike lanes. There are bike trails and parks for people to use for exercise. I would rather see funds used to expand city bus service than on more bike lanes.
As I’ve stated in the past and in this article, bike lanes aren’t just for bikes. They serve EVERYONE who uses roads and sidewalks. Also, I pay taxes. As a driver, I want to feel safe. As a resident and taxpayer in this neighborhood,
I think tourists whom our community hopes to entice would also like the slower pace on the beautiful approach to KY's capitol. And it is too tight for two driving lanes plus parking on each side - no doubt about that!
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I am however, very much in favor of building and repairing sidewalks. I see people actually using the sidewalk everywhere that there is a sidewalk. I think that is a better investment.
I am going to say again, more bike lanes are not the solution to every problem in this town. We have other needs and being able to navigate and get where you want to go is becoming an increasing issue. And, people that drive cars pay taxes to use the roads, cyclists do not. I rarely, if ever, see anyone using the existing bike lanes. There are bike trails and parks for people to use for exercise. I would rather see funds used to expand city bus service than on more bike lanes.
As I’ve stated in the past and in this article, bike lanes aren’t just for bikes. They serve EVERYONE who uses roads and sidewalks. Also, I pay taxes. As a driver, I want to feel safe. As a resident and taxpayer in this neighborhood,
Phone submitted before I finished, oh well…you get the gist
That makes sense.
I think tourists whom our community hopes to entice would also like the slower pace on the beautiful approach to KY's capitol. And it is too tight for two driving lanes plus parking on each side - no doubt about that!
Ms Strong makes some good points.What do opponents of this proposal say?
Vroom ! Vroom ! Pedestrians and parkers be dammed !
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State-Journal.com’s comments forum is for civil, constructive dialogue about news topics in our community, state, nation and world. We emphasize “civil” at a time when Americans, in the words of the current president, need to “turn down the temperature” of political debates. The State Journal will do its part by more carefully policing this forum. Here are some rules that all commenters must agree to follow:
Absolutely no attacks on other commenters, on guest columnists or on authors of letters to the editor. Our print and online opinion pages are sacred marketplaces of ideas where diverse viewpoints are welcome without fear of retribution. You may constructively critique the ideas and opinions of others, but name-calling, stereotyping and similar attacks are strictly prohibited.
Leeway will be given for criticism of elected officials and other public figures, but civility is essential. If you focus your criticism on ideas, opinions and viewpoints, you will be less likely to run afoul of our commenting rules.
Keep comments focused on the article or commentary in question. Don’t use an article about the Frankfort City Commission, for example, to rant about national politics.
Hyperpartisanship that suggests anyone on the other side of an issue or anyone in a particular particular party is evil is not welcome. If you believe that all Democrats are socialists intent on destroying America or that all Republicans are racists, there are lots of places on the internet for you to espouse those views. State-Journal.com is not one.
No sophomoric banter. This isn’t a third-grade classroom but rather a place for serious consumers of news to offer their reactions and opinions on news stories and published commentary.
No consumer complaints about individual businesses. If you’ve had a bad experience with a private business or organization, contact the Better Business Bureau or the government agency that regulates that business. If you believe the actions of a private business are newsworthy, contact us at news@state-journal.com and we will consider whether news coverage is merited.
Absolutely no jokes or comments about a person’s physical appearance.
No promotion of commercial goods or services. Our outstanding staff of marketing consultants stands ready to help businesses with effective advertising solutions.
If you state facts that have not been previously reported by The State Journal, be sure to include the source of your information.
No attacks on State Journal staff members or contributing writers. We welcome questions about, and criticism of, our news stories and commentary but not of the writers who work tirelessly to keep their community informed. Corrections of inaccurate information in news stories should be sent to news@state-journal.com rather than posted in the comments section.