Via Appia Way in Louisville will go through a $147,000 re-striping “road diet” project down to two lanes to try to increase safety for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, city officials said Tuesday.
During its Tuesday meeting, the Louisville City Council approved the road restriping in a 5-2 vote. Councilmembers Judi Kern and Tim Bierman voted against it. The council already approved a contract in October with Kolbe Striping to do the work. The project also is expected to add new, buffered bike lanes and take away right-turn lanes.
The restriping is a “pilot project,” meaning that if and when the road gets repaved in another two to three years, it may go through another restriping configuration, said Kurt Kowar, public works director.
The “road diet” project originally was going to happen in November to cut the number of lanes from four to two. However, the City Council decided to put the project on hold to gather more information and feedback from the community on pedestrian and bike safety along the road. Because the project was put on hold, the contractor may charge a “change order” fee of up to $25,000, which the council also would need to approve.
Kowar said that there have been three pedestrian traffic-related deaths since 2018, and safety along Via Appia needs to be prioritized. Since 2019, the roadway also has seen 67 incidents between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, according to the city agenda.
Via Appia as a four-lane roadway has the capacity of 35,000 vehicles per day, according to city materials. It is expected to have a capacity of 20,000 vehicles per day after the restriping project is complete. The road carries an average of 9,000 vehicles per day, according to city materials.
Kowar said he understands that it will be annoying for some residents to travel along the roadway after the restriping is done, as it will reduce speeds and get rid of some right-turn lanes. However, he said that pedestrian and cyclist safety is of the utmost importance to staff.
“It’s not great out there. We can say there’s no problem, but it’s not great,” Kowar said.
Before suggesting the two-lane road, Louisville staffers also discussed keeping four lanes on Via Appia but narrowing the lanes to provide additional room for a buffered bike lane. They also considered adding two rectangular rapid flashing beacons at Eldorado Lane and Via Capri Way.
The estimated cost to add flashing beacons at the pedestrian crossings is $50,000 per beacon. An activated crosswalk signal would cost $350,000 per location. The council in the future may discuss adding either type of signal.
Residents at Tuesday’s meeting were divided about the idea of changing Via Appia to a two-lane road. Some residents said they were concerned about the safety of kids crossing the road and potential accidents from the adjustment period as drivers get used to the new road configuration. Others said the road is fine as it is. Some said that they were already concerned about the advisory bike lanes on Polk Avenue and West Dahlia Street, and were concerned that restriping on Via Appia will cause further confusion.
Councilmember Deborah Fahey said that the pilot project is “just paint on the road,” and after the 2- to 3-year pilot project, the road can be reconfigured again.
