Lexington needs the Transportation Cabinet to help extend Town Branch Trail to connect with McConnell Springs and Downtown. Read additional information about this proposal.
Please write a letter of support to Governor Steve Beshear! Here are copies you can use: Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word DOC
Map of proposed Town Branch Trail at New Circle Road
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KTC) is in the final planning stages for a New Circle Road expansion project located between Georgetown and Versailles Roads. This is a once in 40-year situation. Town Branch Trail, Inc. a local advocacy non-profit, has formally requested that a section of the proposed Town Branch Trail that intersects and parallels the highway expansion be constructed by the state. Where the highway crosses the Town Branch Creek and the CSX/RJ Corman rail line between Leestown Road and Old Frankfort Pike, it can provide a passage underneath as well as a parallel bridge over these shared obstacles. This request would add less than 1% to the total project budget. Our request is in keeping with federal mandates, national transportation guidelines, and dozens of existing precedents from around the country. Thus far the Cabinet staff has refused our request. This is a rare opportunity for Lexington to reduce the overall cost of the trail while speeding up the project’s eventual connection with the distillery district, Rupp Arena, and Downtown. It is only practical that when the highway reconstruction occurs, parallel and interrelated bike/pedestrian transportation be included and constructed at the same time. Through an economy of scale and integration of logistics, this will lower taxpayer expense and time horizon for this long planned project to be realized. If the public speaks up quickly with one voice, we believe that the Cabinet will come around to acknowledging this timely and appropriate request. The time is short and we need your voice to be heard ASAP.
The time is short and we need your voice to be heard ASAP.
Town Branch Trail has been part of Lexington and state transportation long-range planning for over a decade. Putting bicycle and pedestrian facilities along highway bridges is now considered standard practice by national transportation guidelines. The US Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, specifically calls for this type of integration. Adding a trail section will be a tiny fraction of the overall budget for the New Circle Road project, yet would achieve a huge leap forward for the trail, saving taxpayers time and money in the long run. The connectivity this will benefit the Masterson Station, McConnell’s Trace, Marehaven, Townley and Meadowthorpe neighborhoods. It will also connect the Leestown V.A., Military Reserve, and BCTC campuses with this citywide greenway corridor. It will decrease traffic congestion, improve air quality, increase recreational opportunities and otherwise contribute to a better quality of life. Investment and rising land values are very strongly correlated with the construction of these trails.
Please write a letter of support to Governor Steve Beshear! Here are copies you can use: Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word DOC
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Contact Governor Beshear
Mailing Address
700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Phone/Fax
Main Line: (502) 564-2611
Fax: (502) 564-2517
TDD: (502) 564-9551 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf)
Web Message
http://governor.ky.gov/Pages/contact.aspx