By Stephen M. Berry, Walk-Bike Clark County
This article is part of a feature we call “Your Voice.” As with all commentaries we publish, opinions expressed are not necessarily those of WinCity Voices or WinCity Media, Inc.
Imagine you are walking to the store. You feel confident that you can cross at the red light on a four-lane divided highway. The light turns green, and you start to cross. Fifteen seconds later, the light turns red. Now, you are stuck in the middle of the intersection. An approaching car, having the green light, passes through the intersection. The driver does not notice you walking — until it is too late.
Backup to the year 2006. Kentucky 1958 (Veterans Memorial Parkway) was opened. Originally there was no stoplight at the Ironworks Road (KY-15) intersection. This was a dangerous intersection, with crashes occurring more frequently than expected. A fatal car accident at this intersection led to installing a stoplight. The light was programmed to maximize motor vehicle traffic flow along the busy parkway, while maintaining safety at the Ironworks Road intersection. There was no crosswalk. The timing of the light was less than 20 seconds for Ironworks Road traffic in the absence of vehicles at the intersection.
Forward to 2015. The community participated in a walkability survey for the North Winchester area of Clark County. Groups of citizens walked the area near the Veterans Memorial Parkway and found deficiencies in sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and even timing on the red lights.
The survey group noticed that the traffic lights for roads crossing KY-1958 did not give sufficient opportunity for non-motorized traffic to cross the parkway without stopping in the median and waiting for the light to change again. There were no crosswalks or crossing lights because there were no sidewalks in the area. This makes sense until you realize that there are pedestrians who need safe access to roadways to avoid accidents while trying to get from point A to point B on foot.
In September 2016, the Winchester City Commission and the Clark County Fiscal Court adopted the Winchester-Clark County Active Transportation Plan, which was intended to improve safety for walkers and bicyclists along the roadways of Clark County. One of the projects listed in the plan was walking improvements along Ecton Road, crossing Veterans Memorial Parkway. Although this is not the intersection at KY-15 (Ironworks), it represents the need for pedestrian safety in this area of town. As of September 3, 2024, the date of a fatal pedestrian accident on KY-1958, there were exactly zero miles of improvements made in Winchester and Clark County for pedestrian and bicycling safety.
I can only guess at the reason for this lack of attention to walk-bike improvements. Perhaps it is the lack of resources. Maybe it is the lack of sustained attention to pedestrian safety. Perhaps it is the hubris of the transportation engineers who defer to federal guidelines for motorized vehicle efficiency and not to the human element in highway design and improvements. Perhaps it’s the lack of community involvement in asking for these improvements for safety and accessibility for non-motorized users of the roadway.
Whatever the reason, more of these tragedies are sure to occur unless the community takes an active, intentional interest in improving walk-bike safety and access for themselves and their neighbors.
This is a call to action. Please take a walk or ride a bike. Note the difficulties. Share these concerns with your City Commissioners and your Fiscal Court Magistrates. Demand action to increase the safety of walking and bicycling in your community. Get involved, join, or start a local advocacy organization that seeks to improve the conditions of active transportation in the community.
The only other option is to prepare to mourn additional injuries and deaths. Don’t let the first decision to cross a street be the last decision you ever make.
