Louisville's goals to plant and grow an urban forest to mitigate the city's heat island effect has run afoul of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's engineering standards for state owned roads.
"The city's tree advocates and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet are colliding head-on over rules for safer and easier-to-maintain state roadways," reports James Bruggers.
"As Metro Louisville, neighborhood and nonprofit organizations plant thousands of trees to fight a documented problem of urban heat, the cabinet's highway department is working to prevent new shade trees along streets it maintains, such as Brownsboro Road."
The state highway department's regional office has argued that trees present a safety hazard to "motorists who may drive off the road." The cost of maintenance is also cited in opposition to the street trees. The city, however, has identified street trees as a solution for its heat island problem. A 2013 study found that Louisville has the worst heat island effect of any city in the country.
FULL STORY: Ky. highway department blocks shade trees
Kentucky Planning a New Freeway Around Louisville, Raising Alarms
Local news sources are shedding light on planning for a new highway route that could pass through sensitive habitat of endangered that has yet to undertake a formal environmental or public input process.
Louisville's Tree-Protection Plan in Final Revisions
Faced with a costly urban heat island effect, Louisville is working on a new tree-protection ordinance that could be headed for a vote this week.
Louisville's Infamous Spaghetti Junction to Get Safety Review
Three tractor trailers overturned in less than a month while navigating Spaghetti Junction in Louisville—the maze of twisting ramps and interchanges that sparked viral notoriety at the end of 2016.
Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.
Minneapolis Housing Plan a Success—Not for the Reason You Think
Housing advocates praise the city’s move to eliminate single-family zoning by legalizing triplexes on single-family lots, but that isn’t why housing construction is growing.
‘Mega-Landlords’ Threaten Housing Stability for Renters
As institutional investors buy up a larger share of single-family homes, the families renting them are increasingly vulnerable to rent increases and eviction.
Short-Term Rentals Vex Dallas City Council
Residents complain that vacation rentals exacerbate the city’s housing shortage and bring traffic and noise to residential neighborhoods, calling on the city to impose—and enforce—stricter regulations.
Traffic Fatalities Set Records as Pandemic-Era Road Carnage Shows No Signs of Stopping
An estimated 42,915 people died in automobile crashes in 2021, according to recent federal data. The increasing fatalities continue a trend that began with the outset of the pandemic.
Driver Shortage Undercuts the Potential of L.A.’s Recent Bus System Redesign
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority implemented a complete overhaul of its bus system in three waves over the course of 2021. A shortage of drivers for the system has made it impossible to implement that vision.
County of Sonoma
City of Malibu
EMC Planning Group Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Redwood City
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
