Public meeting held to discuss Smallhouse Road study

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - The Bowling Green and Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization and Bowling Green Public Works, held an open meeting to discuss the results of the ongoing Smallhouse Road study.

The study observes safety, capacity, access, and bicycle and pedestrian needs along the corridor between US 231 and KY 884.

“We recognize the safety issues, the capacity issues, and just the need to kind of try to get ahead of what could be coming for us,” said MPO Coordinator, Karissa Lemon.

On top of road work, the BG-WC MPO also proposed sidewalks and bike paths to better help those without cars navigate Smallhouse Road.

“One of those things is looking at trying to encourage more active users and more opportunities for people to be safe if they want or need to walk or ride their bike,” Lemon said. “Right now, there’s no safe way to do that on Smallhouse Road.”

The study is set to be done in the summer, but the organization has teamed up with the public works to present possible solutions to the issues affecting the stretch of road.

“We’re looking at keeping the roadway two lanes and widening shoulders, or widening to three lanes and having a center turn lane,” said Bowling Green Public Works Assistant City Engineer, Kyle Hunt.

Residents were invited to an “open-house style” event where they could walk around and view different possible solutions, then place green sticks on ones they liked and red on ones they disliked.

“It gives residents along the road a chance to kind of come and go as they please, it’s more convenient for them,” Hunt said. “Then we get to interact with them, and we get to hear possible solutions that they may see or problems that they may be aware of that we don’t know about.”

For Smallhouse Road resident Jordan Haven, it was a welcome change from the usual city meetings.

“If there’s funding for the proposed changes and community feedback is really valued and used in decision-making, I think that’ll be good,” said Haven.

Along with the study, BG-WC MPO also did a survey to see what tradeoffs Smallhouse Road Residents would be willing to make.

A majority supported higher costs for major long-term improvements, a “balanced mix” of fixing current issues versus addressing future needs and would consider new designs for intersection layouts.

The result of the study can be viewed online at the BG-WC MPO website.

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