Lexington, KY - Three preliminary plans regarding the redesign of the intersection at Euclid Avenue and High Street were presented to a group of citizens Tuesday, Aug. 3., in one of two public meetings concerning proposed beautification and increased safety efforts in the area.
The plans, which were arranged and presented by representatives from Palmer Engineering to dozens of citizens at Faith Lutheran Church, included increased green space, mid-block pedestrian crossings, smaller intersections and back-in angled parking. The three plans were similar and varied slightly from each other. While the plans were focused on the large intersection at Euclid Avenue and High Street, other intersections and roadways, such as Hanover Avenue and South Ashland Avenue, had minor alterations.
After another public meeting to discuss the designs in September, the city will submit a final plan to the state in order to apply for a Transportation Enhancement grant. Currently the city has no funding for the project. A group of city planners, including 5th District Council Representative Cheryl Feigel and Steve Austin, began meeting with area neighbors and merchants about a possible redesign.
The aspiration of the redesign is to create more green space, including adding "pocket parks" with benches and rain gardens, make the area more bicycle and pedestrian friendly, improve traffic flow, and "capture the beauty and charm of the Chevy Chase area," said David Lindeman, president of Palmer Engineering, which has partnered with landscaping architecture firm M2D on the project.
Lindeman asked members of the audience to fill out a questionnaire regarding their relationship with the area, priority of concerns, and which plan they preferred, and to list any comments or concerns they had with the plans.
Several members in the audience were concerned about the proposal for back-in angled parking, citing drivers' unfamiliarity with the procedure that requires a car to back into a space at an angle, as opposed to parallel parking. In Lexington, the street parking on Elm Tree Lane adjacent to the Main and Rose complex is the only instance of back-in angled parking.
Stephen Stoltz, a board member of the Ashland Neighborhood Association, was concerned that "improved traffic flow" might lead to more vehicles using Fontaine and the adjacent streets through the neighborhoods as a cut-through to downtown and Richmond Road. "Improving impediments can increase the volume of traffic," he said.