Mission & Vision
The mission of the Old Louisville Mobility Coalition is to improve and promote traffic calming, bicycle and pedestrian experiences, and public transit in the Old Louisville and Limerick neighborhoods. We envision a neighborhood where walking, rolling, biking, and public transit are safe, viable options for commuting, recreation, and health.
Transportation in Old Louisville & Limerick
Old Louisville’s wide sidewalks, pedestrian-only courts, pedestrian-scale lighting, tree canopy, and proximity to multiple schools and businesses make it a prime spot for walking, biking, and public transit. Streets like Third Street were originally designed to be promenades for weekend strolling and many of the original inhabitants of the neighborhood picked this area south of downtown for its access to streetcars and proximity to downtown.
While our neighborhood has people-centric design origins, our streets haven’t always retained the promise of safe streets.
Like many neighborhoods in Louisville and across the country, urban renewal efforts prioritized car traffic speeds at the expense of safety for all users [for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists]. As cars and heavy trucks race to exit or enter I-65, travel from the southend to downtown or vice versa, travel between the East end and West end, they blast through our neighborhood at high speeds, running red lights, creating excess noise pollution, creating an unsafe and inhospitable environment, injuring pedestrians and cyclists, and even frequently crashing into buildings (see “Magbarred” in urban dictionary).
Our neighborhood is home to heavily utilized walking, rolling, transit, and bike routes that residents rely on for both commuting and recreation. Our high rate of Senior and retirement communities and proximity to so many schools (UofL, Manual, Noe, KCAD, and Spalding) means we have people with limited mobility (including those using mobility devices), children, and other students traveling through our neighborhood on a daily basis.
Some of the busiest TARC routes pass through Old Louisville, in particular the #4. Other routes include the #s 2, 6, and 25. These routes connect students and workers to their schools and jobs and connect residents and visitors to downtown, the airport, and tourist sites. East-West we see high cyclist traffic on Oak, St. Catherine, Kentucky, and Breckenridge streets. North-South we see high cyclist traffic on 2nd, 3rd, and 6th streets.
Old Louisville is home to numerous events throughout the year that can be reached via walking, rolling, biking, or transit. For those who must or choose to drive, parking options can be limited and often still involve walking or rolling a short distance to Central Park, Garvin Gate, the Farmers Market, or other event destination.
We can build on the existing ped/bike/bus activity, and more people doing that means less car traffic and less parking needed. And then we can welcome more housing, businesses, and events into the neighborhood without parking and traffic headaches. We all have a vested interest in promoting and making walking, rolling, biking and transit safe, viable, and inviting options for Old Louisville.