LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Business owners in NuLu have concerns that a 15-month street project aimed at beautifying the area could have a negative impact on their bottom line.
Sarah Blazin, whose family owned Muth's Candles in Louisvile for 103 years, has seen the development along Market Street east of downtown in stages. And the next one is about to begin.
"It definitely is a bit anxiety-inducing for the unknown factors of how long certain blocks are going to be closed," Blazin said, concerned about the timing of the work. "When the specifics of certain things are happening and the unknowns in that is a bit nerve-wrecking."
The $12 million "NuLu Streetscape" project will start June 17. The focus will be about a 1-mile stretch of East Market Street from Brook Street to Baxter Avenue.
The city of Louisville and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will start the project on the north side of the 900 and 1000 blocks of Market street and work their way west. The city more street lights will be added along with landscaped medians and enhanced crosswalks — all to increase safety.
"(It'll provide) safety for the people that work down here on the regular basis," said Chris Roark, who works in NuLu. "And then also think about the visitors. So when they come back, we want them to come back for years to come."
Over the last two decades, as the NuLu area has become a restaurant, tourist and shopping hub, the stretch of East Market Street between 1st Street and its termination at the Home of the Innocents has remained largely the same.Six lanes of traffic and parking, most of them pointing east, make the corridor conducive for vehicles plowing through but imposing for pedestrians.
Plans developed almost a decade ago would repurpose a good chunk of Market Street for non-vehicular use. The sidewalk would be extended in places. Curbs would bump out at intersections to make the street-crossing distance shorter. A dedicated cycling path would meander just outside the sidewalk without risking collisions when people open car doors into the path. At least one driving lane would be eliminated, as would the suburban-style angled parking in the 800 block.
Trees and flower beds would be planted, including in a new median in the center of the street. Public art and street furniture like benches and tables would be installed to encourage outdoor interaction.
Aries Lovelace, who was visiting NuLu earlier this week from Indianapolis, said the work will greatly improve the experience on Market Street.
"Where we are from, there aren't a lot of sidewalks," she said. "So I can support making it more walkable and bikers. It would bring a lot more tourists out here."
Many of the current larger trees on Market Street will have to be removed, but new trees will be planted during the construction process.
Blazin isn't a fan of eliminating any parking spots given the issues it already presents. Parking during busy times in NuLu can come at a premium, but the streetscape project would actually reduce the number of parking spaces by 15 in order to add bike lanes and landscaped bump-outs.
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"My employees have a huge issue with — after 11 a.m. — you have to circle the block three times to find parking," said Bryan Jones, who works in NuLu.
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Works said businesses will be contacted 14 days before construction starts on their block, and people will still be able to get to those businesses.
"Doing construction in front of a brick and mortar in the wintertime is a huge concern," Jones said.
Several public meetings have updated those in the area of the project, what to expect and the timeline.
"We are property owners, so anything that increases your property value is a good thing," Blazin said. "But I hope that it doesn't deter or harm newer, smaller businesses."
The project was originally conceived in 2010 and was the talk of the neighborhood in 2013-2014 as renderings were shared and design plans were finalized. But the work never happened. Though East Market Street is a state road, Kentucky transportation dollars that were budgeted for the streetscape never actually came through, prompting Louisville Metro officials to find another way to pay for it.
In 2020, Metro government instead $7.2 million in federal transportation block grant money for the project through the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency, an agency overseen by county-level officials in greater Louisville and southern Indiana.
Metro taxpayers will pony up another $1.6 million, while the final $1.5 million for the project represents money was allocated years ago as part of the Ohio River Bridges Project, which was completed in 2016.
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- Louisville revives long-stalled NuLu 'streetscape'
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