Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The council has been busy. Each day brings five or so inquiries from citizens of the 5th District for which legislative aide Lori Kidwell or yours truly try to craft an adequate response. Some of the questions: what are those funny looking goal posts that have been erected in the Kentucky Utilities easement? Or, why is my street being paved or why is my street not being paved? Or, what can be done about speeding on my street? Or, can we put a four-way stop at my intersection? These are some of the inquires that we receive on a regular basis. The answers are more complex and some, such as traffic issues, require research on vehicular volumes, speed analysis, and accident history. If national standards are met then appropriate action can be taken. If standards are not met, the request can be referred to the Services Committee of the council for a public hearing. The council, more often than not, exercises its authority to place the four-way stops when other action, such as enforcement of speed limits, would be the appropriate action. I have in the last month asked the police to do selective enforcement of speed limits on Fontaine Road, Henry Clay Boulevard, and Hart Road east of Chinoe. I understand that speeding tickets have been issued but I would be interested in what residents have noticed.
Road paving of streets owned by the city is based on a priority list. Civil engineering students walk all the streets in the Urban Service Area, assess the condition of the pavement, and assign a raw score of zero to 100. All streets rated at lower than 65 are placed on the list to repave. The amount of money available from city taxes, bonds, and funds from the state varies widely from year to year. Seldom and probably never is there enough to pave all the streets. This year has been phenomenal in that money seems to be flowing from Frankfort to Lexington for some reason. There were additional offers from the Transportation Cabinet of your state government, but there was not enough time to pass the required legislation before the asphalt plants close for the year. Some people think it may have been related to the Nov. 6 election. Streets in the 5th district that rate lower than 65 and were not done this fall will be on the spring list.
One issue that I have been involved with since I first joined the council in 1994, and especially while I was co-chair of the Town and Gown Commission, has been the effects on neighborhoods of college student housing. I was also chair of the National League of Cities (NLC) University Community Caucus. This subgroup of the NLC meets twice a year and shares information about what actions have been taken in the many communities in the United States with problems associated with student housing. The issues of litter, parking, alcohol abuse and loud parties, inadequate university housing that students will not accept or is not available, and lack of university authority in the adjacent neighborhoods are the themes that are present in almost all places. Most communities believe if the student population can be contained at 50 percent of the houses in a given area, the problems can be resolved and owner-occupied homes can continue. In our community, in one neighborhood, 87 percent of the houses are occupied by students. Friendly persuasion with the landlords and students in Lexington has been tried, but has failed to achieve adequate results. I recently introduced an ordinance that has been successful in the Borough of State College next to Pennsylvania State University. It would require a permit issued by the city before a residence can rent to students. Repeated citations for littering, noise, public drunkenness, and so on could result in revocation of the permit. No permits would be issued for units next door to each other. It has worked in Pennsylvania. It will be discussed in some detail at the Nov. 20 meeting of the council Planning Committee. An ordinance with some of the features tailored for Lexington, I think, would be helpful, but as always let me know what you think.