Louisville's new director of transportation focused on speeding, safety and public input

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The city of Louisville's newly-appointed transportation director says safety concerns of the public are a priority for the city's Department of Transportation.

Mayor Craig Greenberg announced the appointment this week of Bill Bell, who is the former executive director of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Office of Highway Safety.

"People depend on transportation in their everyday lives," Bell said. "It also helps with community and economic development."

Bell told WDRB that his primary goal is to have better communication between the community and government agencies.

"We have to get the communication out to the public, let them know what we are doing," he said. "We have to get projects out on the street faster and completed faster."

Bell also plans address problems leaders may not know about.

I want to talk to the citizens and see what we are not seeing," he said. "Get that feedback and that will impact the programs we want to do."

Creating a local DOT is a priority of Mayor Greenberg. The goal is a one-stop shop that handles all parts of making transportation projects a reality, from planning to funding to engineering.

Right now, much of that work occurs in different departments.

Louisville’s DOT plans to work closely with TARC and the parks department - along with federal and state agencies.

Bell says the DOT soon will begin talking about speed management plans, which he says will be key to protecting all people, no matter how they use the roads.

During his time with KYTC, Bell led the Smart Government Initiatives program under Gov. Steve Beshear and in 2013 led KOHS in recording the lowest statewide highway fatality count since 1949, according to a news release from the city.

City leaders said the department is modeled after other cities that have also adopted their own municipal department of transportation, including Nashville, Seattle and Chicago.

He begins his duties at the end of June.

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