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Resident urges Council to endorse Highway 42 safety changes after multiple crashes; police cite new enforcement grant
Summary
At the public-comment period John Simpson urged the City to endorse KYTC changes on US 42—extending a 35 mph zone, adding flashing intersection warnings and Chevron curve signs—after multiple local crashes; the police chief described an overtime grant to concentrate enforcement on Highway 42 and thanked residents for reporting.
John Simpson told the Prospect City Council during public comment that several serious crashes and two fatalities occurred on a short stretch of U.S. Highway 42 and asked the city to endorse three specific safety measures requested of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet: extend the new 35 mph limit farther up the hill, install an intersection-warning device with flashing lights at the Heritage Creek/Marina Drive intersection, and place Chevron curve warnings around the outer edge of the hill’s curve.
Simpson recounted crashes in 2015 and 2018 and more recent collisions that damaged a limestone wall; he said he met with Carl Jenkins of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and that Jenkins asked the city to endorse the recommended changes. "He asked me if I would get the Prospect city government to endorse these 3 changes, and that's the favor," Simpson told council.
In response, the police chief thanked Simpson, said the department has already focused enforcement and visibility efforts on Highway 42, and noted a recently approved overtime grant that will pay officers to patrol U.S. 42 outside regular hours. The chief said early speed data after a posted limit change showed many vehicles traveling between 30 and 40 miles per hour and that additional enforcement and the grant will enable more targeted patrols on that corridor.
Mayor Doug Farnsley and council members expressed appreciation for Simpson’s advocacy; the mayor said city staff would be pleased to see a first draft of a letter endorsing the requested KYTC changes and offered to help prepare it. The chief also credited KYTC for placing message boards and said the department would continue collecting data and coordinating with state and county partners on signage and enforcement.
No formal council action to endorse the KYTC requests was recorded at the meeting; Mayor Farnsley invited Simpson to provide a draft letter for staff and council consideration.
