LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jenny Cash said she's worried about her safety on Louisville roads.

"They don't seem to care about the person next to them," Cash said of Louisville drivers. "People just don't think the laws pertain to them. They disregard the speed limits everywhere you go, run red lights, especially on Hurstbourne Lane. It's scary."

The consequences of speeding can be catastrophic, and concerns like hers led the city to launch a transportation safety initiative called Vision Zero, which aims to eliminate traffic deaths on city streets by 2050. The initiative is a goal of Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg's administration. Converting one-way streets to handle traffic in both directions is also one of its' key strategies.

"Everybody should be able to get where they are going safely by whatever means they choose," Metro Councilman Ben Reno-Weber, D-8, said Thursday.

Metro Council members said you can help them save lives by filling out a new online survey.

"These are the opportunities that we have to influence real policymaking," Reno-Weber said. "Little deed democracy requires participation. And this is one of those opportunities to really say if this is important to us as a community, here's how we vote show that and have real input."

The online survey's first question asks "Is speeding an issue in the community?"

Chris Glasser, president of Streets for People, a Louisville nonprofit dedicated to making the city's roads safer, said yes.

"The city has a lot of good data on which streets are dangerous," Glass said Thursday. "And I think it's good to sort of just verify that with people's lived experiences."

Drivers will also have the opportunity to rank potential speeding solutions, including more police presence, automated cameras, speed humps and more.

"The police presence on the interstate, that makes a big difference," said Bob Buckler, a Louisville resident. "I definitely slow down when I see a policeman around."

The survey also asks people to drop icons on a city-wide map where you think speeding is an issue.

"The Watterson, whether you're on the Gene Snyder, 71, I mean it's a scary situation here," Cash said. "All of those things can lead to a positive solution and perhaps save lives."

According to Vision Zero's Louisville Dashboard, since the start of the year, Louisville has had 62 deaths on public roads. And that's excluding crashes on interstates.

"We don't have to tolerate the level of traffic deaths that we currently have," Reno-Weber, said. "Everybody should be able to get where they are going safely by whatever means they choose."

A study conducted earlier this year in a joint effort by Louisville Metro Government and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and prepared by Palmer Engineering included data for all public streets and roadways in Jefferson County except for Interstates 64, 71, 264 and 265. The study, called Vision Zero Louisville, logged every crash from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2022, only excluding those that occurred in parking lots, which made up just 5.3% of those reported county-wide, the study said.

The most dangerous stretch of road in Jefferson County, the study showed, was Broadway from 22nd Street to Baxter Avenue. The third-most dangerous stretch was Broadway from from 22nd Street to 35th Street.

Seventeen of the 20 most dangerous stretches of roadway in Jefferson County are owned by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Of the 53 "High Injury Network" routes ranked by the study, 85% of the 152.5 miles of roadway are state-owned.

Other corridors of concern include South 7th Street between Algonquin Parkway and South 9th Street as well as Bardstown Road between Captain Place and Beulah Church Road.

A public survey is open until Sept. 30, a way for the city of Louisville to hear people's concerns about speeding on city roadways. To give your opinion, click here.

Related Stories:

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.