Southland Drive has a special reason to celebrate National Bike Month this year, with May bringing the grand opening of much-anticipated new bike lanes to the busy business corridor.
Partners from the area have organized a street fair on May 9 to commemorate the grand opening of the lanes and to celebrate the business corridor, which is considered Lexington’s oldest retail corridor outside of downtown. Dubbed the Southland Street Fair, the event will take place on a blocked off section of the street and adjacent parking lots near Good Foods Co-Op and Marikka’s.
“We’re always looking for the next thing we can do to help improve the community,” Jim Kreiner, director of Habitat for Humanity’s Southland Drive ReStore, said in 10th District councilmember Amanda Mays Bledsoe’s recent “Talk of the Tenth” video.
“We saw some great street fairs happening in other parts of the city and said ‘hey we can do that here too,’” Kreiner added.
The event will feature more than 70 local vendors, including food, retail and more, as well as live bluegrass music, a performance from March Madness Marching Band, biking demonstrations and a ceremonial family bike ride on the new lanes. Additional planned activities include mini golf, inflatables, a portable bowling lane and more.
An official ribbon cutting of the lanes will take place at 3 p.m., with festivities continuing until 8 p.m. This celebration will continue the progress that Southland Drive has made as a community effort to provide a unique, relatable atmosphere for all kinds of people. Serving as an avenue for local businesses to come together with strong neighborhood support, the fair will celebrate the both the history and the future that Southland Drive has to offer.
“Many of these businesses that line this street have been here for decades,” said Krista Maggard, marketing manager at Good Foods Co-Op. “The businesses are truly supported by the individuals that live in the surrounding neighborhoods and come to Southland Drive to eat, work, shop and play.”
The bike lanes, which are painted bright green at major intersections and go from Nicholasville to Rosemont Garden, were funded by a combination of federal grant money, city funds and $30,000 that members of the Southland Association – a business association that formed in 2004 – helped to raise. The lanes are the latest to a list of improvements Southland Drive has seen in recent years years, including more than 150 tree plantings along the street, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Southland Association.
As Kriener pointed out, the association has deep-seated benefits for its members.
“We are working together to pool our resources to make this a better neighborhood for everyone: folks who live here, folks who work here or own business here, or people like myself, who do all three.”
Southland Drive Street Fair
Saturday, May 9
3-8 p.m.
Featuring an official ribbon cutting to commemorate the grand opening of the Southland Drive bike lanes, local food, live music, a ceremonial family bike ride, mini golf and more.
For more information, visit www.southlandstreetfair.com.
10th Anniversary of Southland Jamboree
As the weekly summer music series Southland Jamboree celebrates its 10th season, live bluegrass music from Custom Made Bluegrass and The Velvet Blue taking place at the May 9 Southland Street Fair will help kick the season off.
However, the series will see some changes this year, including a new day and new venue. Because its former venue (next to Southland Drive’s Collins Bowling Lane) is now home to a new office building, the Southland Jamboree will take place on Monday nights at MoonDance at Midnight Pass Amphitheater in Beaumont Circle, starting May 25 and taking place weekly through September 7.
For more information, visit www.southlandjamboree.org. cc