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City moves toward a Complete Streets manual and Vision Zero measures, allocates funds for near‑term safety work
Summary
Planning staff told commissioners a Complete Streets design manual will be drafted and presented this spring, Vision Zero coordination continues, and about $700,000 from fund balance has been set aside for feasibility studies and short-term safety projects including roundabout feasibility and neighborhood quick builds.
Planning staff told the Lexington City Planning Commission on Jan. 22 that a Complete Streets design manual is nearing completion and will be presented to council and the commission this spring.
"This is an engineering manual, essentially," Kenzie Gleason said, calling the document both technical and design-oriented and noting it will replace the neighborhood traffic management guide and apply to private development and public infrastructure.
Staff said they will begin stakeholder outreach with utility companies, developers and engineering divisions in February and expect it to take two to three months to work through implementation concerns before presenting a draft to council. The manual will inform private cross sections, mid‑block traffic‑calming features, intersection design and driveway standards.
Gleason and staff also reviewed Vision Zero work focused on reducing serious injuries and fatalities. They said Fayette County records roughly 35 to 40 traffic fatalities a year and that pedestrians and bicyclists are disproportionately represented in those figures.
"Vision Zero really focuses on serious injuries and fatalities," Gleason said, describing data-driven efforts including an MPO safety work group and hiring of a Vision Zero coordinator to update the high‑injury network and action plan.
The presentation highlighted the Imagine New Circle Road safety project — described by staff as a formerly high‑fatality corridor that has moved from planning to funded construction — and a council task force that recommended short-term, actionable improvements. Gleason said the city allocated about $700,000 in fund balance to support feasibility studies and near‑term safety work.
Staff described a program of quick‑build demonstrations and neighborhood traffic‑circle pilots to show treatments to residents and gather feedback; they noted a Shropshire Corridor mural/traffic‑calming pilot grew from a community street‑fest and that the public arts board has expressed interest in such treatments.
Commissioners asked about enforcement and automated enforcement tools. Gleason said the streets group is coordinating with police on a traffic complaints page and targeted enforcement and that city advocates are working with the legislature to change Kentucky law that currently prevents use of speed and red‑light cameras.
The commission had no formal votes on the manual or projects during the work session; staff said they will return with drafts and more detailed project timelines for council and planning‑commission review.
