Tonini Building Renovation Work Begins With New Roof

Birds have learned to use the urban environment to their benefit, utilizing cars to crack nuts and finding safety in crosswalks. Here’s a video of a crow in Japan doing just that. (via Spacing Toronto)

Ghost bike look-a-likes used to sell clothes (Urban Velo)
Commuter rail isn’t high speed rail (Transport Politic)
Local pothole threat likely to grow this year (Fox 41)

“One Road” Bill Could Hold “Reckless” Drivers Accountable

Feb 9, 2009

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A new bill is currently working its way through Frankfort that would hold “reckless” drivers accountable for hitting a pedestrian or bicyclist. Kentucky House Bill 88 has been dubbed “One Road” by advocacy group Bicycling For Louisville and is intended to promote the safety of all who share the road.

Here’s some information about HB88 from BFL:

The bill creates a new offense, vehicular assault of a bicyclist or pedestrian, defined as a vehicle operator hitting a bicyclist or pedestrian while operating a vehicle in a reckless manner. Reckless means a combination of: 1) failing to avoid a substantial and unjustifiable risk; and 2) grossly deviating from the standard of care exercised by a reasonable person under those conditions. To convict someone of this crime, the prosecutor would need to prove recklessness. This provides a large degree of protection for vehicle operators who hit someone through little or no fault of their own.

The bill would specifically empower law enforcement officers to issue a citation or make an arrest for this crime on the basis of probable cause, which means good reason to believe that the person committed the crime, regardless of whether the officer witnessed it. If an officer arrived at the scene of a car-bike or car-pedestrian crash, looked at the evidence, and had strong reason to believe that one party to the crash caused it by driving recklessly, the officer could charge that person with vehicular assault of a bicyclist or pedestrian.

This bill just makes too much sense by bringing accountability to our roads. There’s a Facebook group dedicated to the HB88 One Road initiative and you can read more info from Bicycling For Louisville here and here and from F*** Gas here.

Morning News Roundup

By Broken Sidewalk -

Feb 9, 2009

If you haven’t noticed, we’re putting pictures of Louisville sidewalks, good, bad, and otherwise, on the news roundups. If you have a picture of a sidewalk you would like to see here, send it to us at tips@brokensidewalk.com.

Waterfront Park Place Opens Garage, Plans Retail

Feb 6, 2009

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In what must have been the grandest opening in Louisville history for a garage, 15 new parking spots were christened today at Waterfront Park Place. That’s right. There are now 15 new and exclusive parking spots in the new Luxury Garage off Floyd Street. Those 15 spots drew several television news crews, the Mayor and Metro Council President Tandy, and a pretty substantial crowd. The event began and ended with a prayer thanking the Divine for blessing the garage project and Waterfront Park Place overall and much cake and champagne (yes, for a 15-spot garage), was served.

The ribbon cutting event took a turn only Louisville’s weirdness could imagine as Mayor Abramson drove through the ceremonial blue ribbon with his new hybrid Ford Escape (photo after the click), followed by a litany of the finest automotive brands on the market: Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes, and Lincoln were among the mix driving through to claim their spot as confetti flew through the air and guys dressed as air-traffic controllers guided them in. Mayor Abramson declared today “Waterfront Park Place Garage Grand Opening Day” and brought a plaque marking the occasion.

Much of the show was a celebration of the residential condo tower itself and its visionary, Eleanor Bingham Miller. The tower is reportedly now 75 percent sold thanks to a little help from the Mayor himself. He quipped that he suggested the building to the new Dean of the Medical School at the University of Louisville when he was moving here. The Dean now calls Waterfront Park Place home. Everyone thanked the Mayor for not collecting on his referral fees.

Another bit of good news was also released at the event: one of the retail spaces fronting Waterfront Park has finally found a tenant. An agreement was reached today to place a Subway restaurant in a corner spot with a patio. The franchisee is currently in India, but a lease is expected to be signed next week. Given the ideal location of the retail space in the building, we find it hard to believe it took this long. Finally hungry park-goers can grab a bite to eat nearby. And think of the business come Thunder.

The new garage and retail spaces were designed by Potter and Associates Architects and the original Waterfront Park Place tower was designed by Bravura Architecture, both firms just a few blocks away. A 35-car surface level parking lot on the west side of the building was also opened where a third phase of lofts and retail had once been planned.

(We really like that glass canopy in the rendering below, but wonder how it’s going to fit with the security camera installed above the door. Has it been scrapped?)

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Arena Mayhem: Women’s Volleyball Finals On Their Way

Feb 6, 2009

NCAA Women's Volleyball Finals Set For 2012

The first non-University of Louisville event for the arena was announced today at the University of Louisville’s YUM Center. The 2012 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Finals will bring nearly 20,000 screaming college sport fans to the city in the first planned display of how well Louisville can handle major championships. That’s over 2-years after opening day, though, so there will be plenty of other big events at the arena before the volleyballs start flying.

The C-J reported that last year’s final drew a record crowd of 17,430 in Omaha, but we believe Louisville can pack the 22,000 seat house. Business First pointed out that Louisville is already a “volleyball community” as it hosts an annual stop for the AVP Professional Beach Volleyball at Waterfront Park. The Ville-Voice also noted that the event will have an expected $4 million impact on the local economy.

Arena gets 2012 volleyball (Ville-Voice)
Louisville gets 2012 volleyball final four (Business First)
New arena to host 2012 NCAA women’s volleyball finals (C-J)
More coverage of Arena Mayhem (Broken Sidewalk)

Time To Say Farewell To Ice Storm 2009

Feb 6, 2009

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Well, we said we were through with Ice Storm 2009 photos, but several BS readers wrote in to ask for more. We decided that since next week’s near-tropical weather will likely melt most of the remaining snow and ice, one more look at the cold weather couldn’t hurt.

University of Louisville Planning New Building

Development

Feb 6, 2009

Aerial view of the U of L Belknap Campus (photo from Live Maps)

The University of Louisville is planning a new $73.5 million science and engineering classroom building on its Belknap Campus. The new structure is planned to be 3 or 4 stories and will also be the new home of the recently announced Institute for Renewable Energy Research. The new building will provide modern laboratory space and offer plenty of opportunity for collaboration. The building remains a proposal at this point, but more details should emerge in coming months.

Just last week, the University of Louisville received a $20 million gift from Henry and Rebecca Conn for study of renewable energies. The new program will bear their name: Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research and Environmental Stewardship. No official location for the program or structure have been released (besides that it will be located at the Belknap Campus), but we believe it will likely be located on the Speed School of Engineering campus. The move is hoped to push Louisville and Kentucky to the forefront of renewable energy research and environmental stewardship.

Evening News Roundup

By Broken Sidewalk -

Feb 6, 2009

We usually try to stay far away from politics in Washington, but the implications of the Stimulus Bill currently being debated are quite serious. All the back and forth is making us a little dizzy and the continual cuts to infrastructure programs we care about (namely, transit) and threats of increased highway building are getting us down.