It’s a fact of life: Warmer spring temperatures mean the season of road closures, orange barrels, and heavy traffic is upon us.
With a busy season of upcoming road maintenance projects on the horizon, Kenton county mayors were eager to hear an update from Bob Yaeger, chief district engineer at Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 6 on Saturday, April 15.
Yaeger and representatives from KYTC-6 shared an update with local leaders aimed at increasing efficiency and collaboration between Northern Kentucky cities and the state agency responsible for road construction projects in 11 counties, including Kenton, Campbell, and Boone.
There’s an inherent tension to designing roadways – especially state highways that pass through a city’s main thoroughfare, or downtown area. In his presentation, Yaeger noted the importance of finding balance.
“My main philosophy has been to get people from point A to point B in the most efficient and effective method possible, and that means taking out traffic signals if I can, and letting people drive a safe speed through town, but this is counterproductive to what cities want,” Yaeger said. “Cities want people to slow down.”
To help manage the tension of conflicting objectives to achieve balance, the state of Kentucky is implementing its Complete Streets program and policy that was approved in September of last year.
A complete street is a street, road, or highway that is safe and accommodating for all expected users and includes transportation choices for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, motor vehicle drivers, freight carriers, and others within the context of the surrounding area.
All future KYTC projects, including the Fourth Street bridge that connects Campbell and Kenton counties, will be complete streets, officials said at the meeting.
“The new 4th Street Bridge will be the poster child for complete streets once it’s complete,” said Yaeger, who noted the plan includes travel lanes, bike lanes, and sidewalks.
Yaeger also introduced two members of the communications team for KYTC-6 who will serve as a point of contact for area leaders. This team is also working to produce more video content, including drone footage of work-in-progress, and updates directly to residents on social media to increase transparency and awareness of road maintenance and construction projects.
Mayors and other leaders were encouraged to share social media content from KYTC-6 on municipal pages to help residents navigate construction zones that may impact their commute, or traffic to their business.