Legacy Trail Planning Process

[steve austin]

Wow! What an event on the Legacy Trail! We had nearly 150 turn out on a chilly early Saturday morning for one purpose: to help make Lexington a better place. Nearly 50 of those attendees rode their bikes from downtown Lexington to the party in Coldstream Park.

Who this is really for...

We heard from the trail consultants about trail design generally, then we had a chance to meet with the consultants across seven different planning stations. Ideas ranged from interpretive education to public art to connections to other trails within Lexington and the region and much more. The consultants told us that they have never attended such a positive meeting with such great input.

Prizes were given out, kids played in the tent and out on the trail, great warm food was served, and the Big Maracas provided a groovy beat. The crowd even sang happy birthday to Steve Austin (because it was his birthday…in case you wondered why…)

IDEAS... IDEAS... IDEAS.... EVERYWHERE

We gave tons of notes about how to make this the best trail possible...

This was just the first step. In the next 698 days, the trail will be completed from the Horse Park to points throughout the downtown area, including the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden in the East End Neighborhood.

You can contribute to the Trail Fund at Blue Grass Community Foundation and help us make this a reality! www.bgcf.org

Watch this and learn about the design philosphy - and then look at all the other videos in the video section of this site:

Here's a video of the beginning of the bike ride to the party
The next steps will include a public meeting with folks in the neighborhoods surrounding downtown for more detail planning discussions, as well as a reality check session to begin reviewing the initial design concepts. No date has been set for either meeting, but it is expected that they will occur in early December. We will let you know as soon as we know. In the meantime, watch the videos. We have several great clips featuring the consultants talking about their design philosophy. Many show the food and fun. Watch the bike caravan leave downtown and arrive at the party site. Click on the pictures too. Tops in Lex has a lot of pictures of this event as well: http://www.topsinlex.com/see-me.php?id=2234&seq_id=1&tm=The... For more information please contact us or the project consultants Strand Engineering: Mike Woolum, P.E. Director of Operations: Phone: [phone] Legacy Trail in the Herald Leader Tom Eblen wrote a nice story about the Trail in the October 24th Herald Leader: http://tomeblen.bloginky.com/2008/10/24/legacy-trail-would-improve-...

Saraya Brewer wrote a nice story about the Trail in the October 30th Business Lexington:
http://www.bizlex.com/Articles-c-2008-10-29-82106.113117_Moving_in_...

Thursday Nite Live

Thanks to everyone who turned out on October 23! We had a great response and a good time.

Stakeholder Meetings

Those folks who own property on or near the trail, city officials, utilitiy companies, and community organizations with an interest in the Trail have had a series of meetings the design consultants.

Issues thatcame out include safety, signage, art and heritage, bike hubs, and gardens to represent our sister cities.