Photos 1 and 2: Work has begun on Scott and Greenup streets.
Photo 3: A participation board at the 2019 open house listed residents' concerns about the existing Scott-Greenup traffic setup.
City worked with state, community leaders on safety project
COVINGTON, Ky. – The physical work of moving a designated state highway from several densely populated Covington neighborhoods is underway.
After years of public input, planning, and state decisions related to funding, Riegler Blacktop is fixing curbs and doing other minor concrete repair on Scott and Greenup streets between 12th and 20th streets as the first stage of the conversion project.
Once finished, the change will move a state route – known as Ky. 17 – to Madison Avenue, improving safety in front of houses and multi-family apartment buildings in the Eastside, Helentown, Austinburg, and Wallace Woods neighborhoods.
“Finally, this long-discussed and long-planned conversion is coming to fruition,” City Manager Ken Smith said. “For some time, neighborhood leaders have been concerned about the volume and speed of traffic flying past their houses on these tight streets, and with this project we will improve safety for everybody, including pedestrians, kids playing, people getting in and out of their parked cars, and bicyclists.”
As it now stands, Scott Boulevard and Greenup Street – which carry one-way traffic but in opposite directions – are linked as a “couplet” that carries Ky. 17 from 20th Street to the Roebling Suspension Bridge across the Ohio River.
So at the urging of neighborhood leaders as far back as 2016, the City worked with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to set in motion a plan that will move the Ky. 17 designation west to Madison Avenue between 20th and 12th streets. The work will require improvements to all three streets.
Details of the work, according to Assistant Public Works Director Bill Matteoli:
- This week, Riegler’s crews and subcontractors have been periodically fixing curbs at targeted locations along Scott and Greenup, while other crews are pouring bases for new light poles along Madison.
- Next will come installation of ADA ramps on corners that lack them, new signage, and other curb work.
- All three streets – Greenup, Scott, and Madison – will be resurfaced between 12th and 20th streets, likely this summer.
- To encourage traffic to slow down, traffic signals will become stop signs at Scott’s and Greenup’s intersections with 15th and 16th streets.
- Parking will remain on both sides of the street and be largely unaffected, although a few spaces will be lost.
A separate Kentucky Transportation Cabinet resurfacing project is under contract on Ky. 17 from Latonia Avenue (near Mother of God Cemetery) to Greenup Street. The project also includes the resurfacing of East 20th Street from Madison to Greenup. This project is expected to begin this spring, KYTC said. Highway officials will announce a starting date for the project once it has been scheduled.
The Kentucky General Assembly allocated $2.5 million for the conversion project during the 2022 legislative session. The projected cost has risen to $3.66 million, due to mandated signal upgrades on Madison and state requirements for an on-site project monitor. The state has committed to paying that additional cost.
The changes to Scott and Greenup emanated from public discussion on the neighborhood level among leaders of the Eastern 4 neighborhood group, consisting of representatives of people living in Austinburg, Helentown, Levassor Park, and Wallace Woods.
The goal is to calm traffic, improve safety, expand walkability, and increase development in neighborhood business districts, and it implements a stated goal of neighborhood leaders as far back as 2016.
At the group’s request, the City hired Planning and Development Services of Kenton County in 2018 to guide a study and craft a traffic plan for the north-south corridors. A draft of that plan was put before residents in March 2019 during an open house attended by about 75 people, as seen at “Residents weigh in on Greenup, Scott proposals.”
According to that draft, the plan was similar to one-way to two-way conversions that had taken place in cities like Louisville, Cincinnati, Charleston (S.C.), and others.
The 2019 draft plan – which nearly mirrors the changes in store – had a harsh assessment of the current traffic reality: The current design (of Scott and Greenup) focuses heavily on movement of cars through the neighborhood as quickly as possible and “as such, this emphasis on vehicular mobility is in direct conflict with the historically walkable, community-oriented neighborhoods that exist.”
But the new setup would have benefits far beyond just increased safety.
“We’re talking about a better quality of life and quality of place,” Economic Development Director Tom West said. “The new setup could encourage more investment in the neighborhoods and help create walkable, bikeable environments where neighborhood businesses could flourish, homeowners would make improvements to their houses, and new residents would be attracted to rehab abandoned and dilapidated structures.”
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