Erlanger residents press council over Narrows Road sidewalks, drainage and speed limits

At the March 3 Erlanger City Council meeting, multiple residents urged the council to reconsider aspects of the Narrows Road sidewalk and traffic-control plan, pressing officials for additional studies and clearer communication on drainage and safety.

Marlene Pike, a longtime Narrows Road resident, told the council she has lived on the road for 40 years and said the area grew from “5 houses” to “over 300 and some houses,” and that “with the new sidewalk going in, I feel like [the speed limit] needs to be brought down.” David Lee, who said he lives at 3859 or 3865 Narrows Road, described repeated near-miss incidents while turning into a driveway and urged a reduced speed limit and stop signs, saying drivers “do 45, 50.”

Several residents raised concerns about stormwater impacts. Amy Bockrat said the city and its consultant had asked for a large easement and proposed redirecting runoff toward a detention pond behind her property; she described repeated requests for pre- and post-construction hydraulic calculations and said her family has been ignored. “We have sent a certified letter placing the city on formal notice that the proposed redirection and consecration of stormwater presents a foreseeable risk of structural and environmental damage to our property,” Bockrat said, adding that she wants production of “documentation of all calculations and analysis, permanent applications and submissions to SD 1” and written clarification about indemnification or responsibility.

City officials responded that technical review and permitting are in place. City Attorney Gatlin said, “SD 1 has granted a permit for this,” and emphasized that the city relies on consultants and experts. Public Works Director Kevin Quinn described the Vioxx traffic engineer’s stop-sign and pedestrian-safety recommendations and said the study “was done for pedestrian safety. It wasn't based on speed.” Quinn recommended proceeding with the current plan, noting the sidewalks in places run “right up against the back of the street” and that curbs would be added in some spots to protect pedestrians.

Councilmember Recker said she had collected roughly a dozen emails from constituents and proposed a cautious approach: she recommended considering temporary stop signs and conducting a new speed study with those temporary controls in place before permanently lowering the posted limit from 35 to 25 mph. Recker also relayed concerns from parents and school-bus routing that construction timing could disrupt morning and afternoon bus routes.

The council did not take a formal vote on changing speed limits or installing temporary stop signs at the meeting. Mayor (speaker 1) thanked residents for attending the public workshop and said the city’s goal is to “make this a walkable community and a safe community.” City staff said they will follow up with additional information and that the project has involved Vioxx and SD1 permitting; residents seeking records were advised to pursue public-records requests and direct follow-up with Public Works staff.

Next steps: staff and council members discussed additional data requests (collision history and detailed drainage calculations) and possible temporary measures to evaluate driver behavior; no formal policy change was recorded at the meeting.