How often to people walk through the Ville? Most days, I’ll walk anywhere from five to eight miles, just to see where things are and what’s going on in various neighborhoods. This report from the CJ seems very interesting:

A study looking into how Louisville’s downtown can be more walkable is set to continue after a team of city officials and consultants dropped an initial plan for improvements in May.

While a multitude of two-way street conversions are underway, city officials are working with a nationally-recognized consultant on planning out how the newly designed streets will serve those traveling on foot.

Officials released a preliminary “Downtown and NuLu Walkability Plan,” which lays out how a redesigned grid with two-way streets can support a more walkable city, and Louisville Metro has allocated $325,000 for studying walkability in the Downtown and NuLu areas, according to a December 2024 news release.

There are always new things to find when you walk through Downtown and NuLu, and any plan to improve walkability through the city would be worth the effort. But as the city looks at improving foot traffic, it should also make an effort to plant trees in strategic points to reduce the heat island effects of the steel and concrete infrastructure that dominates the Downtown and NuLu areas. In the summer, it’s almost impossible to walk downtown because there are very few shaded areas that offer relief from the heat.

The preliminary recommendations (attached here) offer numerous suggestions to improve traffic patterns, including converting one way streets to two ways. The recommendations also have instances where the city finally understands how to effectively create bike lanes.

I’ve complained a number of times on how city planners don’t seem to understand how to create effective bike lanes, but if this plan is enacted (which will probably take years) there would be plenty of improvements for more bike riding, allowing cyclists to safely cover greater distances.