Directional changes coming to Louisville's Main Street

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The main thoroughfare running through Louisville has become dangerous and cumbersome to navigate.

Speeding on Main Street in downtown Louisville is enough to make your teeth chatter.

"We have already had cars end up on the sidewalk and hit our building and other things," Keith Caufield, owner of Caufield's Novelty, said. "Slowing them down a little bit right there would be awesome."

And it takes a lot to scare Caufield: a huge two-story bat hangs from his building while a giant skull keeps an eye on his parking lot.

By Halloween, a popular time around Caufield’s store, Main Street is expected to be a much different and much slower road.

"One of our hopes with converting it back to two is to slow things, kind of calm traffic," Mike Vaughn, with the traffic safety branch of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), said.

Louisville's Main Street is technically a state road and under the jurisdiction of KYTC. Their plan is to add protected bike lanes, dedicated turn lanes, and have traffic moving in both directions on a fresh coat of asphalt.

“Right now it is like a drag race at 4 o'clock," Caufield said. "Everyone that is leaving town is just flying in front of our place."

Speed is not your friend in downtown traffic. During the last six years, KYTC reports close to 470 crashes on Main Street, and in almost 20 percent of those crashes, someone was injured.

"This in a way is a public health crisis," said Vaughn.

To keep your eyes on the road, KYTC is using high visibility stripes in lieu of regular road paint.

And part of the bigger project, Main Street will become two-way from Wenzel Street to 22nd Street.