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Consultants outline long‑range Blue Sky Small Area Plan, propose walkable sidepaths and central spine road
Summary
Consultants for the Blue Sky Small Area Plan told the Lexington Planning Commission that the area could evolve over 20+ years into a mixed office‑industrial and executive campus, adding pedestrian and bicycle sidepaths, a central spine road to separate truck and auto traffic, and stormwater improvements; commissioners pressed for easement, flooding and safety details.
Sam Castro, a consultant with Tannell Spangler, Walsh & Associates, told the Lexington Planning Commission on Feb. 19 that the Blue Sky Small Area Plan is about three‑quarters complete and represents a 20‑plus year vision tying into the city’s Urban Growth Master Plan. Castro said the plan treats parts of the site as "office‑industrial" and identifies a darker‑purple "executive office campus" that could leverage proximity to I‑75 and an adjacent soccer stadium area that planners estimate could eventually support thousands of new households.
The update laid out near‑term, so‑called "small bites of the apple" — pedestrian and bicycle improvements, signage to identify stub streets with future connections, and a small central open space to capture stormwater. "We think there's a way to improve bicycle pedestrian access around Blue Sky Parkway," Castro said, while emphasizing that the area must continue to function as an industrial district with space for truck deliveries.
McLaren, a civil engineer with Gresham Smith, presented transportation phases. He said first steps include widening and adding a 10‑foot multiuse sidepath and sidewalk on Athens Boonsboro Road, upgrades to Cutter's Hill to raise the road for 100‑year storm resilience, and a short‑term three‑lane section with a center turn lane to reduce conflicts. Longer‑term concepts include a Central Spine Road to separate higher‑speed auto/office traffic on the east side from heavier truck routes on the west side and a roundabout or signalized intersection to focus truck access near the western entrance. "The new road ... could kind of contain more of your standard vehicular traffic that would serve your executives out on the Eastern side," McLaren said.
Commissioners focused questions on constructability, property owner impacts and safety. One commissioner asked whether raising Cutter's Hill by a couple of feet would move private driveways; McLaren replied the design ties out before existing drives and requires only limited grading. Commissioners also asked who would build and pay for sidepaths; staff and consultants said the paths will likely require permanent easements from property owners and that some work could be done by private owners, by utilities, or through future public programs.
On utilities and stormwater, McLaren said the existing sanitary sewer system has capacity for current uses but would require upgrades if the area were built out to the full plan. He suggested using a regional facility in the middle of the site to meet redevelopment treatment requirements and to reduce on‑site construction for many properties. He also recommended dropping empty PVC conduit under new sidepaths to make future telecom/power redundancy easier to deploy.
The presentation produced no formal action; commissioners asked staff to continue refining design details, easement and cost implications, and to coordinate with KYTC and MPO on larger crossing and access questions. The commission thanked the presenters and moved to the next agenda item.
The Blue Sky update combined conceptual land‑use choices with near‑term infrastructure priorities; any actual construction or zoning changes would follow later public review and project‑level approvals.
