The City of Bowling Green was one of 132 communities across the nation awarded funding through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot grant program. The funding is aimed at reconnecting communities that were cut off by transportation infrastructure decades ago, leaving neighborhoods without safe or direct access to essential opportunities like jobs, schools, medical offices, and places of worship.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet built Veterans Memorial Highway (U.S. 68) in the mid-1980s as a northern beltline around the downtown core of Bowling Green, Kentucky. The roadway project cut through the heart of an economically disadvantaged community with five lanes of pavement and high-speed vehicular traffic. The roadway created a barrier that separated neighbors on both sides of the arterial. Residents on one side of the arterial are isolated from neighbors, a park, and an elementary school on the other side of the roadway. Many residents, whose only means of transportation is by foot or bicycle, have had to navigate narrow sidewalks with few opportunities to safely cross this treacherous stretch of roadway.
Through the help of our neighbors, non-profits, and community organizations voicing concerns over the lack of safety and comfort for non-motorized users in the West End, an idea was born. Stakeholders from within the MPO discussed ways to enhance safety and mobility for vulnerable users along the unsafe corridor of Veterans Memorial Lane. When the Reconnecting Communities grant program became available, the MPO, City of Bowling Green, and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet – District 3 worked together to submit a competitive application, with great success! This project will target the section of Veterans Memorial Lane from Victoria Street to Clay Street, creating a roundabout on the north end. The project will include protected and raised medians, providing dedicated turn lanes and a pedestrian refuge while crossing the road, along with street trees, wider sidewalks and other features to help slow down traffic and improve cyclist and pedestrian safety. The transformation along this stretch of Veterans Memorial Lane will be what is called a “Complete Street.” Per KYTC’s website, a complete street is a street, road, or highway that is safe and accommodating for all expected users. They provide transportation choices for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, motor vehicle drivers, freight carriers, and others within the context of the surrounding area.
The proposed project would modernize Veterans Memorial Blvd. between Victoria and Clay Streets and include: construction of a dual lane roundabout at Victoria St., construction of a raised 18’ median throughout the project, narrower 11’ travel lanes and 12’ turn lanes as needed, wider 7’ sidewalks, new lighting, landscaping, and shorter crossing distances for pedestrians. Below are examples from other communities of similar improvements and a map of the project.
