Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI), our regional chamber of commerce, is unveiling their legislative agenda for the upcoming Kentucky General Assembly. A major component of the GLI agenda is the imbalance of funding levels for future road construction https://wfpl.org/going-need-roads-gli-says/. The distribution of funds between rural and urban areas is decidedly to the advantage of rural areas. The ration is 4 to 1. The graph found here http://www.klc.org/info/detail/14/Streets_and_Roads illustrates well the “formula of fifths” distribution. GLI’s focus is on receiving more funds for roads. Unfortunately GlI’s concerns do not extend to correcting the funding imbalance that impoverishes public transit. In 1945 Kentucky amended its constitution directing transportation funds exclusively to roads http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legresou/constitu/230.htm. Those funds cannot be spent on public transit, thus TARC’s poverty. GLI is more concerned with new roads for the proposed Oxmoor apartment complex (301 apartments and 500 parking spaces) http://www.courier-journal.com/…/apartment-compl…/862656001/, and for the planned Urton Lane extension https://louisvilleky.gov/…/…/urton-lane-corridor-information. GLI is ignoring the benefits of green space, ignoring the increase in flooding and urban heat, ignoring the damage to our creeks, ignoring the potential presented by redeveloping surface parking lots, ignoring climate change. Yes, the “formula of fifths” should change, but the benefits should result in a more sustainable Louisville.
