Creates safer route for commuters
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 29, 2015) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray today celebrated the opening of a new shared-use path at The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky that connects bicyclists and pedestrians from south Lexington neighborhoods to campus and downtown.
Located on the western edge of The Arboretum Woods, the path links Shady Lane to University Court, providing a safe and efficient connection for dozens of commuters cycling and walking along this corridor daily.
“UK is undergoing a dramatic physical transformation, including the redevelopment and improvement of our parking and transportation infrastructure,” Capilouto said. “We’re taking a holistic approach to provide a diverse range of safe options for our campus and surrounding community. The new shared-use path through The Arboretum connects us to surrounding neighborhoods and provides a safer, more convenient access point for bikers commuting to campus.”
The shared use path will allow commuters to travel through The Arboretum Woods to campus and then downtown along an established network of dedicated bicycle facilities, with safe crossings of busy intersections and without having to negotiate the walking paths in The Arboretum.
“The new Arboretum path adds to our growing network of paths and trails for cycling and walking,” Gray said. “From the Legacy Trail to Town Branch Trail to Brighton Rail Trail and all points in between, Lexington is connecting the pieces to make it easier to bike or walk around town. The city is adding more bike lanes, colored lane markings and road signage to improve the safety of bicycling.”
To promote safety for all commuters along this corridor, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG), a founding partner of The Arboretum, instituted new way-finding and safety-related pavement markings and signage to guide cyclists between the Bellefonte route and the new shared use path, along with a new pedestrian crosswalk where the path intersects with Shady Lane.
An additional component of the project was an improvement to the connection from University Drive to Hiltonia via the Baptist Health campus. This part of the project creates better connectivity to the west and provides safer access for cyclists traveling between the Rosemont Garden and Southland Drive corridors and campus/downtown. Baptist Health was a key partner for this aspect of the project.
In 2011, the UK Bicycle Advisory Committee identified the Arboretum Woods connection as a priority project. The connection was also identified as a priority project on the LFUCG Greenways Master Plan, the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan and the UK Campus Bicycle Plan.
Studies showed that bicycle use on campus had grown 37 percent in the decade since the previous study.
The design of the new facility carefully considered the ecological significance of the woodland remnant it crosses and was constructed to remove as little vegetation as possible and to protect the root systems of the trees adjacent to the path.
Once commuters arrive on University Court, they can cross Alumni Drive onto University Drive’s bicycle lane or shared sidewalk. From there they can access main campus or downtown Lexington through a number of bicycle lanes, shared use trails, sharrows (shared lane arrow) or shared sidewalks. Once the Alumni Drive realignment is complete, cyclists and pedestrians will also have access to campus and downtown from Tates Creek Road through a shared use path and bicycle lane, and from Nicholasville Road through a bicycle lane shared use path.
In addition to the Arboretum Woods Shared Use Path, the UK campus boasts 8 miles of bike lanes, 3.5 miles of sharrows and 3 miles of shared sidewalks. Once recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bronze level Bicycle Friendly University, UK’s status was upgraded to a Silver level Bicycle Friendly University this year.
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