In October 2023, the Versailles City Council created a committee to
begin the first steps towards transforming the Lexington Road corridor –
the U.S. 60 Bypass interchange where Woodford Feed is located to its
terminus at Main Street.
The mission of the committee is to develop a safer, more welcoming
corridor that honors the road’s historic character, addresses the need
for beautification, provides for a continuous bicycle path, improves
access to businesses, identifies funding sources, defines the project
into segments or phases, and identifies challenges.
Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott stressed the importance of this project
“This project is in its infancy; it is now a conceptual plan that lays
out a vision to make our city a much more appealing place for
generations to come,” he said.
The committee is composed of Mary Beth Robson, a professional engineer
on the Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Planning Commission, Dan
Knight, assistant director of the city’s Public Works Department in
charge of streets, Casey Smith of District 7 with the Transportation
Cabinet, Brent Swiger with the Transportation Cabinet, Bart Miller,
director of the city’s Public Works Department, and Jennifer Sharpe, a
business owner on the corridor. Dan Krapp of UK Forward provided expert
assistance and consulting.
Knight and Robson took the council through an overview of the
committee’s work with a PowerPoint presentation. Robson emphasized the
current presentation is purely conceptual at this time. He said there
has been no contact with business owners, nor has there been any public
hearings. It simply creates the framework to move into the next steps,
he said.
All of the phases envision putting utilities underground to get rid of
the maze of wires interfering with vistas.
“We divided the project into three segments recognizing there were
distinct areas on Lexington Road with different characteristics,” said
Robson. “And we recognized, given the scope and costs, that it would not
be built in ‘one go’.”
Robson explained how the committee chose to divide Lexington Road and
the changes the committee was considering.
Segment 1 is Main Street to Locust Street, which is central downtown and
commercial. In this segment, the verges (area between street and
sidewalk) would be decorative and mast signal lights would replace wired
ones. Further, “share the road” signs would be added there would be
breakout curb parallel parking spots.
Segment 2A is Locust Street to Bowmar Street, which begins the
transition from urban commercial to residential. In this segment,
sidewalks would be widened from 4’ to 6’ with marked bike lanes between
the verge and the car lane. It would also be beautified.
Segment 2B is Bowmar Street to Maple Street, which is residential. This
segment would include a continuation of the widened sidewalk and
buffered bike lane.
Segment 3A is Maple Street to Laval Heights, which is a mix of
undeveloped lots, commercial and residential. This segment would include
a boulevard concept that has greenery in the middle of the traveled
road, which begins the “gateway” into the downtown area. It also
includes planning for existing access roads such as Daisy Hill Drive,
and ‘share the road’ signage. Segment 3B is Laval Heights to the U.S. 60
Bypass, which is commercial with significant access. This segment is
very busy and historically where many accidents take place. It would
include a center turn lane, extended sidewalks, access changes at
Woodford Center, and parking changes to existing businesses to include
solving the problem of “backing into” Lexington Road. It also involves
redesigning the U.S. 60 Bypass-Lexington Road intersection to eliminate
serious safety issues.
According to the committee, the estimated cost of the entire project is
nearly $34 million. However, as Robson pointed out, $20.6 million is
attributed to the cost of relocating utility infrastructure underground
– just under two-thirds of the total cost. She also noted that the
right-of-way costs of $357,000 is only for segments 3A and 3B since the
city already has the necessary easements for Segments 1, 2A and 2B.
“The next step is we need more thorough planning and a preliminary
design,” said Knight.
Robson said the committee will begin looking more closely at funding
sources and begin talks with the utility companies, such as Kentucky
Utilities. It will also explorefederal and state grant options to cover
other costs.
Councilmember Lisa Johnson asked if there was a priority list of how to
proceed. Robson said “There is not one yet, we will do that in the next
step. . . but we all know Woodford Plaza is the number one safety
priority and we could consider some kind of demonstration project there
to begin showing the community what it could look like.”
Downtown Revitalization
Ken Kerkhoff, chair of the Downtown Revitalization Committee (DRC),
provided an updated status report to the council.
Kerkhoff first addressed the location of the proposed archway.
“The council requested us to meet with business owners and the city
engineer to explore the best location because we want to be a good
neighbor,” he said. “So we looked at three options – at Court and Main,
across Court where Valozzi’s is located and just before the entrance to
the road going down to the city parking lot in a location that does not
span the road, but is still visible from Main Street.” This is the area
where Court begins to run downhill to the parking lot.
Kerkhoff said given the issues with locations spanning Court Street,
the committee had decided on the new third option which does not span a
road.
“This works for our Legacy partners and it is the best option for the
project to be a good neighbor,” he said.
Further, he said, this location was also acceptable to the business
owners on Court Street – Amsden Coffee, Bourbon Bar and Vallozzi’s.
Kerkhoff was also able to report that the utility work on the alley
between Valozzi’s and Rose Hill running along the rear of the buildings
on Main Street would be completed in the next seven to 10 days.
He also reported that the new parking area for the project would be
completed by April 1 – an additional two months ahead of schedule. This
will require the closing of the city parking lot from March 11 until
March 31, he said.
Jon Rabinowicz, speaking for the Vallozzi’s ownership group, raised a
concern about the lot closure being completed before the opening of
Keeneland. Kerkhoff said this could be resolved, and Knight said the
city could work on assisting if necessary.
Kerkhoff also presented the committee’s three naming options for the
completed project for the council to select from: “Versailles Community
Marketplace,” which was the committee’s recommendation, “Versailles
Downtown Event District” and “Versailles Community Event Place.”
“My preference is to use ‘community’ in the title because that is what
this is really about . . . a place for the entire community,” said
Kerkhoff.
The council took no action on choosing the name at the meeting.
Neighborhood grant
The council approved a municipal order increasing the neighborhood grant
program by $4,500 to fully fund the only pending application.
The council then went on to approve a neighborhood grant application for
$7,500 from Merewood Subdivision. The funds will be used to build a new
entrance for the sign and median with landscaping to give a “fresh
appearance” according to the application. This approval drained the
budgeted funds for the grant program for this fiscal year.
Traugott said it is likely the grant program will be funded in the 2025
fiscal year with new funds available on July 1.
Mayor Plaque
Traugott said the Versailles City Council meeting room has a new plaque
that lists the names of all Versailles mayors. Given how Versailles
governed itself, the mayoral list does not begin with the city’s founding.
Kentucky Utilities closing
Traugott announced that Kentucky Utilities is closing its Versailles
business office on April 26. This means that residents accustomed to
paying their bill in person will need to make new arrangements to pay
either online or by mail.