Public Works Committee Meeting - March 21, 2023
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Public Works Committee Meeting - March 21, 2023
The Public Works Committee of the Louisville Metro Council met on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at 4:00 PM in Council Chambers. Chair Donna Purvis called the meeting to order at 4:02 PM, and a quorum was established with seven members present (Vice Chair Engel excused). The meeting adjourned at 4:30 PM. The committee received the first annual Vision Zero Louisville report and advanced two property-related resolutions to the full council's consent calendar.
Vision Zero Louisville 2022 Annual Report
Claire Yates, Transportation Planner and Vision Zero Louisville Program Manager, presented the program's first annual report, required by the ordinance passed in summer 2022. Key points:
- Vision Zero aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2050, excluding interstates and private property.
- In 2022, traffic fatalities spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic and remain elevated even as vehicle miles traveled returned to pre‑pandemic levels.
- Vulnerable road users (motorcyclists, pedestrians, bicyclists) account for a small share of crashes but a large share of fatalities and serious injuries.
- The state owns about 12% of Louisville's surface street network, yet over two‑thirds of all traffic fatalities and serious injuries occur on state‑owned roads.
- Arterial roadways make up roughly 13% of the street network but account for over 75% of traffic fatalities and serious injuries on surface streets.
- A $21 million federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant (with local and state matches) will fund safety improvements on 10 corridors identified in the Vision Zero Safety Report.
- Automated enforcement (speed safety cameras and red light cameras) is currently illegal in Kentucky, but legislation has been introduced; the presenter noted limited progress.
- The program is collaborating with the Complete Streets Coalition and holds monthly virtual task force meetings (Fridays, 1–2 p.m., sign‑up via visionzerlouisville.org).
- Short‑term goals include funding in the mayor's recommended budget, developing a high‑injury network, and conducting a speed limit audit.
Council members discussed roadway design, the role of automated enforcement, and opportunities for council participation.
Pending Legislation
R-026-23 – Surplus Property Transfer at 10122 Whipps Mill Road
This resolution declared a small 18‑foot remnant parcel (Parcel ID 014300450024) as surplus and authorized its transfer to an adjacent property owner. Jeff Brown, Acting Director of Public Works and Assets, explained the parcel was a leftover from the Hearstbourne Parkway railroad overpass project; the owner had expressed interest. Councilman Ackerson expressed general concerns about undervaluing city property but supported this transaction because the land cannot be built upon due to the parkway encroachment zone, making the agreed price (approximately 27 cents on the dollar) reasonable given the diminished value. The committee voted by voice vote to recommend approval, sending the resolution to the consent calendar.
R-030-23 – River Road Widening – Acceptance and Dedication of Parcels
This resolution approved accepting 18 parcels from the Commonwealth of Kentucky and dedicating 27 parcels on the north side of River Road for the widening project from Zorn Avenue to Edith Avenue (under KRS Chapter 178.080). Jeff Brown stated that these parcels, previously under state ownership, are needed to complete right‑of‑way for construction. The committee voted by voice vote to recommend approval, sending the resolution to the consent calendar.
Key Outcomes
- Both R-026-23 and R-030-23 were recommended for approval and placed on the consent calendar for consideration by the full Metro Council at its meeting on April 13, 2023.
- No other business was conducted; the meeting adjourned at 4:30 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Just moving forward and being progressive and helping the community in the best way possible. My name is Ronita Nance, and I'm an artist based here out of Louisville, Kentucky. And I actually work for my home. I am an abstract artist. I do poor painting, and she commissioned me to do a tabletop to fit the space. She gave me the colors, and actually it works very well. I'm so appreciative that she thought of me to help her to uh bring it to fruition and to add to the space. I almost cried when I bought it in here because it coordinated so well with her space. I'm excited as a small business owner to be able to have this space to bring clients. Sometimes people come to me and they want to do different projects, and I'm not real comfortable with bringing people into my home. I have children, so it's exciting to be able to have this space to bring them to. It felt really good to be around people like-minded, like-spirited. It felt really good. My name is Gary Parker. I served as a cavalry scout and a military policeman in the United States Army for 20 years. When I was a Calvary Scout, we had a young lieutenant that came in. Great guy, but he moved on, got promoted to lieutenant colonel, went on to Afghanistan, and I was able to keep in contact. Nobody knows why he did it. And is there something that we could have done to prevent it from happening? Safe gun storage can prevent gun suicide because it's that added step to get to your fire room that might just give somebody a moment of reflection on what they're doing. As a veteran, we need to be ambassadors to people that don't have the knowledge that we have. Anytime you're not storing weapons safely, you're putting yourself and your community at risk. Service never stops. Welcome to the Committee of Public Works. I'm your chairperson, Councilwoman Donna Purvis, my co-chair, Councilman Robin Eagles. Sorry, Ingle has an excuse absence. I am joined today by Councilman Kumar, Councilman Eckerson, Councilman Sim, Councilwoman Flood, and Councilwoman Chapo. Today, um, I'm sorry. Hey guys, can you all do your thing? Thank you. This meeting is being held for Zoe to KRS six one point eight two six in Council Rule 5A, ready full. Thank you. Uh today we have with us uh public works, and they're gonna be here today. Um we're gonna be discussing uh their uh annual report. And today I have uh Jeff Brown, who is the interim director of public works, and I'm going to turn it over to him and let him uh begin the discussion. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm Jeff Brown, interim director of Public Works and Assets. And today I'd like to introduce Claire Yates, and she's gonna go over our first Vision Zero annual report for you. Thank you. Thank you. Um as Director Brown said, my name is Claire Yates. I am a transportation planner with Metro Public Works and the program manager for Vision Zero Louisville, the city's transportation safety initiative. The Vision Zero Louisville Ordinance passed last summer. Um it requires an annual report. We finalized and released the first annual report earlier this month. The report is available on our website at Vision Zero Louisville.org. I will now present on some of the contents of that annual report. What is Vision Zero? Vision Zero began in Sweden in the 1990s with the goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities and serious injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.
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