West St. Catherine Neighborhood Association

GLTV Spot RE: West St. Catherine Traffic

May 20, 2002

Jim Meyer of GLTV interviewed Rhonda Williams of the West Saint Catherine Neighborhood Associaton, and Herb Fink of the Property Improvement Committee for The Old Louisville Neighborhood Council on Friday, May 10, 2002. In an effort to inform the public of the traffic change on West Saint Catherine Street, that interview will begin airing on May 14th, 2002 @ 1:00 p.m on GLTV, channel 25. This spot will be included in GLTV's program schedule rotation throughout May, 2002.

Printed below is Rhonda Williams' portion of the interview:

As West Saint Catherine Street is the exit from Interstate Highway 65 into the Old Louisville/Limerick historic district, it is the first impression residents and tourists alike receive of the area. It goes without saying that it is most certainly to our mutual advantage that first impression be a positive one. Historically, in the 1890s, when these Victorian homes were built, West Saint Catherine Street was a residential area, with no real automotive travel in Louisville at the time. Today, in regard to traffic, we feel that one of the good things about making our street 2-way, is that by slowing down the traffic flow, it will restore some of our historic authenticity. You?’ll notice that our most recent effort at restoring authenticity consists of the installation of period lighting, made possible through the generosity of our Alderman, George Unseld.

Another important benefit of the 2-way traffic will be the increased pedestrian presence on our street, which will only serve to reinforce the sense of community we have been working on ?– that is already here. With parking on both sides of the street and 2-way traffic, we?’ll feel more like a real neighborhood, less like a thoroughfare.

Additionally, and perhaps, most importantly, we believe that the change in the traffic pattern will reduce truck traffic through our historic district. The semis won?’t be rumbling by here at all hours of the night, because truckers will naturally find the most direct route to their destinations. We also think we will see a reduction in the frequency of the accidents occurring at our intersections, which has been a huge problem on our street for many years.

We, on West Saint Catherine Street, are delighted with the advent of 2-way traffic.