CivicLex’s part in Lexington’s $22 million in federal funding for safety improvements
Lexington got a big win towards the end of the year - the announcement of a $22 million federal investment in reimagining northeast New Circle Road, the major highway system in our city. CivicLex was proud to lead the public engagement behind the long-term plan for this road, and we're grateful that the funded project centers all of the resident priorities that we gathered during the process - walkability, bikeability, addressing safety concerns, and more.
The community engagement consulting side of our work isn't something that we trumpet around a lot, but it's quietly become one of our most impactful parts of our organization. For Imagine New Circle Road, we canvassed over 50 businesses along the corridor, knocked and flyered over a thousand doors in adjacent neighborhoods, and heard from almost 2,000 residents directly about their priority for this unsafe and problematic stretch of roadway in Lexington. Since the announcement, we've had a chance to follow up with the folks that gave us their feedback to let them know that the city, state, and federal governments listened to their input - and delivered what they wanted.
We're grateful to everyone at Gresham Smith - especially Louis R. Johnson, PLA, ASLA and Erin Masterson, all the folks in planning at Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG), everyone at the Lexington area MPO, and others for trusting us with this project.
Among other things, this investment will deepen Lexington's commitment to bike/ped safety - something that's incredibly needed. Just in the past two days, vehicles/drivers have killed two of our neighbors in the past week. The funding will create a new Vision Zero coordinator position in the city and dedicate over $300,000 to a Vision Zero public education campaign.