Published: April 24, 2008 07:56 am      

City gets green light traffic signals

Street light installation will soon begin about 3,000 feet up from the intersection of KY 52 and the Robert Martin Bypass near Catalpa Loop Road.

This is one step the Richmond City Commission is taking to ensure the safety of citizens who choose to walk to Paradise Cove at Gibson Bay, which will be opening Memorial Day.

The commission awarded the project bid Tuesday to the Albany-based R.L. Curry Inc. at a bid price of $63,000.

The installation of street lights has been planned for some time. It was just a matter of completing road work and getting permission from the state, said Richmond City Manager David Evans.

The project will be paid for out of the city’s Municipal Road Aid fund, Evans said.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is looking into installing a crosswalk that would safely lead pedestrians across the Eastern Bypass to Gibson Bay Drive, allowing them to walk to the aquatic center.

“They (the transportation cabinet) are planning,” Evans said. “They’ve already done a traffic count.”

Despite the approval of the aforementioned project, the commission’s request for a crosswalk at the intersection of KY 52 and Catalpa Loop Road was denied.

Richmond Mayor Connie Lawson wrote a letter recently to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet concerning the installation of a pedestrian crosswalk in that particular area.

Engineers from the District Traffic Section conducted a study of the area and determined that the location did not meet warrants for a traffic signal or a crosswalk, said Robert C. Lewis, acting chief district engineer for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

He responded in a letter dated April 16 that supported the state’s decision.

“In the past, we have experienced some undesirable results with mid-block crosswalks, in particular near the EKU campus, and we do not desire a repeat of those results at this location,” he wrote.

Lewis is referring to a crosswalk that previously was located on Lancaster Avenue connecting a large, commuter parking lot to campus. Several students were injured while trying to walk across because of the crosswalk’s offset location.

“Due to the high speeds and the number of lanes for a pedestrian to cross, it is our finding that a marked crosswalk will provide pedestrians with a false sense of security thereby further endangering them,” Lewis wrote. “Once the aquatic center is open and should pedestrians begin crossing KY 52, we will re-evaluate this location for possible placement of pedestrian signals.”

Commissioner Kay Cosby Jones voiced her dissatisfaction with he state’s decision at Tuesday’s meeting.

“That’s being reactive and not proactive,” Jones said. “So many of our street lights have gone up after people have been killed. It makes no sense to wait.”

In other business:

• An ordinance was passed that changes the zoning classification of 12.3 acres of property owned by the Richmond-based KK&RR, LLC from single-family residential to multi-family residential.

• The commission voted in favor of changing the zoning classification of 9.07 acres owned by Spangler Apartments LLC from industrial to downtown business.

• The commission heard the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the Richmond Utilities Board to extend sewer service outside the boundaries of the city to the Okonite Co., located at 1740 Berea Road

The company was denied by the Kentucky Division of Water for a renewal of the company’s sanitary sewage treatment discharge permit.

The ordinance, if passed after its next reading scheduled for 6 p.m. May 13 at City Hall, will allow Okonite to gain access to city sewage treatment, as well as other city services such as police and fire protection.

• Commissioners heard the first reading of an ordinance to authorize the issuance of residential parking permits to residents of Eastway Drive. Several requests have been made by Eastway Drive residents, Evans said.

“If they (Eastway Drive residents) have guests, they have to park on the street and they get citations.”

The second and final reading of the ordinance will be at 6 p.m. May 13 at City Hall.

• Marsha Dunn, Richmond’s long-time community development director, will retire as of June 1.

• Debbie Bellairs and Richmond Police Senior Patrolman Josh Hale were appointed to the Richmond Human Rights Commission.

• David M. Jones resigned from his volunteer position on the city’s Board of Architectural Review.

• Joni Fields was appointed to replace Jones on the Board of Architectural Review.

• Jessica Emmitt, Megan Bellamy, Randi Bird, Wes Lanham and Taran Gorman were hired as seasonal summer workers for the Richmond Parks and Recreation Department.

• Gerald Quinn was hired as a seasonal, part-time employee for the Richmond Tourism Department.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.