The Bowling Green-Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization (BG-WC MPO) is conducting a study on Smallhouse Road from US 231 (Campbell Lane) to KY 884 (Three Springs Road). The study is analyzing safety, capacity, access, and bicycle / pedestrian needs along the corridor to determine future short-term and long-term solutions. The primary study goals include:
- Provide necessary safety, capacity, access management, and bicycle / pedestrian improvements for all users into the future.
- Recommendations for major intersections along the corridor, including, but not limited to, Campbell Lane (US 231), Cave Mill Road, Grider Pond, Elrod Road, and KY 884 (Three Springs Road).
- Have minimal right-of-way impacts.
Currently the project team is in the research and development phase of the study. Part of this process includes public involvement. The consultant-led team, HMB Transportation Consultants, is leading efforts reaching out to the community to solicit input on the desire and needs for improvements to Smallhouse Road. The MPO is wants to hear your thoughts on the needs / issues along the corridor as well as what you would like to see for future improvements along Smallhouse Road and at the intersections.
Postcards were mailed to residents along the Smallhouse Road corridor and surrounding area in mid-December to inform them of the study and a public survey. The survey will close on Friday, January 13, 2023. At that time the project team will compile the collected information for use in conjunction with the technical analysis to develop a set of draft improvement concepts.
Want to learn more and express additional comments and concerns? A public meeting will be held on Monday, February 20th at 5:30 pm at Holy Spirit Catholic Church to provide additional study information and collect feedback on draft concepts. The overall completion date for the study is April 2023, and a final report will be posted on the BG-WC MPO website.
As a final note, we want to remind our readers and all concerned with this study that this is indeed just a study to provide recommendations for the future. While we hope we can work with our local and state governments to secure funding for infrastructure improvements along Smallhouse Road in the coming years, we also must recognize we have a lot of conflicting and pressing infrastructure needs to keep up (and catch up) with the rapid growth our community has and is experiencing. Not to mention, all transportation funding is competitive. If you’re curious when you’ll see construction crews out paving the way to improvements, it will be several years. In the meantime, we welcome input and will continue to work to prioritize and seek funding for transportation projects across our community.