Millions of stimulus dollars go downtown

300 dpi Anita Langemach color illustration of one-hundred-dollar bill with Benjamin Franklin wearing baseball cap and blowing whistle. The Gazette (Colorado Springs) 2009<p> club coaches illustration benjamin franklin coach referee whistle blower money hundred dollar bill; krtussports; u.s. us united states; consultants; krtbusiness business; krtfinancialservice financial services; krtnamer north america; krtusbusiness; krtnational national; krtsports sports; krt; mctillustration; FIN; SPO; 04000000; 04006003; 15000000; 2009; krt2009 gt contributor coddington langemach mct2009 mct

300 dpi Anita Langemach color illustration of one-hundred-dollar bill with Benjamin Franklin wearing baseball cap and blowing whistle. The Gazette (Colorado Springs) 2009<p> club coaches illustration benjamin franklin coach referee whistle blower money hundred dollar bill; krtussports; u.s. us united states; consultants; krtbusiness business; krtfinancialservice financial services; krtnamer north america; krtusbusiness; krtnational national; krtsports sports; krt; mctillustration; FIN; SPO; 04000000; 04006003; 15000000; 2009; krt2009 gt contributor coddington langemach mct2009 mct

March 27, 2009

About $23 million in stimulus funding will go to projects in downtown Lexington, including a project to add bike lanes, the city announced Thursday.

The Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which includes officials from Fayette and Jessamine counties, voted Wednesday to allocate the funds.

The money will be divided into four projects:

  • $1.1 million will go to the first phase of the downtown streetscape project. Dedicated bike lanes, curbside rain gardens, wider sidewalks and non-peak parking lanes will be added along Main Street between Broadway and Elm Tree Lane.
  • $12 million will go to a Newtown Pike Extension. The money will be used to help connect the part of Main Street at Newtown Pike to Versailles Road. The section, 1,700 feet long, will be the first part of the planned four-lane boulevard. The project will also include additions such as new sidewalks, bike lanes and streetlights.
  • $5.4 million will go to LexTran for new buses and shelters, as well as scheduling software, communications and conversion of buses to hybrid technology, among other things.
  • $4.7 million will go to completing the first two phases of the Legacy Trail from the Kentucky Horse Park to the Northside YMCA on Loudon Avenue. The bike and pedestrian trail is intended to connect the horse park and downtown Lexington, and the final phase will run from the Northside YMCA to the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden on Third Street.