Agonized drivers scream bloody murder as Louisville contemplates a 9th Street shrink 'n' slow.

Photo credit: Undivided Nation.

Let the coddled drivers' bitching begin.

On second thought, it probably already has. Amid the spitting and snarling and all-purpose selfish venom, I'll just be resting here with a beer and cigar, thinking back to all the places I've been that have nice buses, trams and subways extending from city center into the outlying areas.

Soon I'll be walking to work again. It's going to be a quite a pleasure.

The Future of Ninth Street: City debuts potential redesign, by Caitlin Bowling (Insider Louisville)

Louisville Metro Government officials are hoping that by 2022, Ninth Street, from the riverfront to Broadway, will look less like a hazardous highway on the edge of downtown and more like a version of Queens Quay in Toronto.

The street has long been considered problematic, as it effectively divides downtown from the predominantly minority neighborhoods in west Louisville, as well as promotes high vehicles speeds and dangerous crossing conditions for pedestrians.

“It’s well past time for the physical and psychological divide at Ninth Street to end,” Mayor Greg Fischer said in a news release highlighting ways that the street could be transformed.

The draft plan, which was created by consultant Gehl Architects with input from residents, shows three alternatives for Ninth Street but identifies one — the Urban Parkway — as the optimal choice, asserting that it would provide adequate vehicle capacity while improving safety for pedestrians and cyclist and creating new public space.

The Urban Parkway plan would make Ninth Street a four-lane road, down from six lanes, and reduce the lane width to between 10 feet and 11 feet, down from its current 11 to 14 feet. The plan also calls for a bike lane divided from the vehicle lanes, a shorter median, a walking path from Broadway to the Ohio River and 20- to 25-foot landscaped sidewalks with places to sit, play and shop ...