LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Hoping to improve safety and cut down on crashes, Louisville has several rightsizing projects planned for 2023.

One of the most common ways to rightsize a road is to take a four-lane road and change it to three lanes. Instead of two lanes of traffic in both directions, a rightsized road would have one lane of traffic in each direction with a turn lane in the middle.

Plans to rightsize several Louisville roads in 2023

Image from LouisvilleKy.gov

"It inevitably slows everyone down," said Michael King, director for the Louisville Metro Office of Advanced Planning. "It shortens crossing distances for pedestrians, because, now, they're crossing three lanes instead of four. And, in general, it just provides a little more clarity on where folks are supposed to be."

It's not a new concept for Louisville. Other roads have been rightsized in the past. Now, the city and state have added additional streets or sections or roads to the list.

King said the ultimate goal is to improve safety. He said Louisville is a Vision Zero community, meaning, by 2050, the hope is to have zero fatalities on the roadways.

"I think a lot of our (current) road design invites people to drive at unsafe speeds," said Chris Glasser, director of Streets for People, an advocacy group working to make walking, biking, and driving safe for all. "I think you see that on a lot of four-lane roads."

Glasser said he supports rightsizing and is happy to see the city and state work on these projects in Louisville. However, he sees it as a start — not the end.

"This is a great first step, but I do think there's more that could be done to really make the streets safe for all users, and these projects are really about making them more safe for drivers in particular," he said, pointing to things like national safety standards for bike lanes and two-way conversions.

According to the city's website, there are at least seven rightsizing projects planned for this year in Louisville. Some are through the city, while others are through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. 

Those 2023 projects include:

  • Stilz Avenue (from Frankfort Avenue to Lexington Road)
  • South 7th Street (from Magnolia Avenue to Industry Road)
  • Lexington Road (from Payne Street to E. Liberty Street)
  • Frankfort Avenue (from Stilz Avenue to Lexington Road)
  • Brownsboro Road (from Mellwood Avenue to Chenoweth Lane)
    • Brownsboro Road between Haldeman Avenue and N. Ewing Avenue was previously rightsized in 2012
  • Ellison Avenue (from Spratt Street to Barret Avenue)
  • 7th Street Road (from Dixie Highway to Manslick Road)

For a full list of expected dates for these projects and when they are planned, click here.

Projects can differ on a case by case basis, King said. For example, the project on Frankfort Avenue is expected to change four lanes of travel to two lanes with a center turn lane, which also creating a dedicated left-turn lane at intersections, create on-street parking, and marked shoulders. 

However, the project on Ellison Avenue focuses on a new design with bike lanes, according to the city's website.

King said these projects will typically be done when roads are scheduled to be repaved, hoping to not add extra construction time. 

"On, unfortunately, most all of them, there's a lot of accidents that are happening out there," he said.

For business owners in the area, they're hoping construction and the final product won't have any negative impacts on their sales. 

"We've been here almost 10 years now," said Dan DeGeorge, who owns DeGeorge Bros Guitars off Frankfort Avenue with his brother, adding that the road out front has changed quite a bit in the past decade. 

"... The construction was the main thing that messed up parking out here. We've got that back for the most part now. Hopefully it won't go away again."

King said there is not a list for 2024 rightsizing projects yet. 

Recently completed rightsizing projects since 2020 in the city include:

  • Baxter Avenue (from East Broadway to East Market Street)
  • Lexington Road (from Grinstead Drive to Stilz Avenue/Garden Drive)
  • Southern Parkway
  • Taylor Boulevard/Winkler Avenue
  • Lexington Road (from Stilz Avenue/Garden Drive to Frankfort Avenue/Shelbyville Road)

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