APCD to hold "Clearing the Air" Seminar Series

The Air Pollution Control District (APCD) is holding a "Clearing the Air" Seminar Series over the next few months.

Morning seminars will be held from 9-9:30 a.m. and evening seminars will be held from 5:30-6 p.m. with question and answer sessions to follow. All seminars will be at the APCD offices' board room, 850 Barrett Ave., in Louisville. All seminars are free.

Here are the topics and dates:

March 30:

• Morning Seminar: Air Quality 101 with APCD Executive Director Lauren Anderson.
• Evening Seminar: Air Quality 101 with APCD Executive Director Lauren Anderson.

May 25:

• Morning Seminar: Managing Buildings and Grounds for Air Quality with a special guest from the Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center
• Evening Seminar: Lawn Care for Cleaner Air

June 29:

• Morning Seminar: Idle Reduction Tool Kit: Turn the Key for Cleaner Fleets.
• Evening Seminar: You and Your Car: The Key to Cleaner Air and Greater Fuel Efficiency.

August 31:

• Morning Seminar: It All Adds Up: A Guide to Air Monitoring.
• Evening Seminar: It All Adds Up: A Guidet to Air Monitoring.

September 28:

• Morning Seminar: State of the Air with APCD Executive Director Lauren Anderson.
• Evening Seminar: State of the Air with APCD Executive Director Lauren Anderson.

For more information, go to www.louisvilleky.gov/apcd

Groundbreaking held for another ARRA project

Another project funded by Amer­ican Recovery and Reinvest­ment Act (ARRA) dollars broke ground yesterday.

Gov. Steve Beshear, KIPDA Executive Director Jack Couch and other local officials gathred to break ground for construction of an extension to Blankenbaker Parkway., a $5.1 million project.

The new section of roadway will extend Blan­kenbaker by six-tenths of a mile from Chenoweth Run Road to Taylorsville Road. It will create direct access from Taylorsville Road to the Bluegrass Industrial Parkway. The extension will be con­structed to the east of Cheno­weth Run Road and run between the Deer Creek patio homes and Landherr Estates.

Flynn Brothers Contracting Inc. of Louisville was awarded the contract and participated in the ceremony. Construction is to be completed in the summer of 2011.

TARC BOARD ELIMINATES FOUR ROUTES AND REDUCES/CHANGES 16; ADDITIONAL FARE BEING EXPLORED

During their meeting yesterday, the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) Board of Directors gave its support to a new course of action designed to help TARC make up a projected $5.5 million shortfall and preserve some of the bus routes that had been slated for elimination last month.

TARC Executive Director J. Barry Barker recommended that the board move ahead with 20 of the recommendations he made on Feb. 22. Those include four route eliminations and 16 routes that are slated for service reductions or routing changes. Those changes are expected to save about $2.5 million annually and will take effect on June 6.

However, the elimination of 12 of 16 express routes that was proposed last month was put on hold while TARC explores the feasibility of making up part of the shortfall by adding $1 additional fare on all express routes and reducing rather than eliminating service on some of them. Barker also recommended combining Routes #12 Twelfth Street and #22 Twenty-second Street, both of which had been proposed for elimination.

Barker recommended holding off on changes to the Fourth Street Trolley while funding options are considered. Changes to Routes #29 Eastern Parkway, #75 Bluegrass Circulator and #77 Main-Market Trolley were also put on hold.

The final decision is scheduled to be made on the remaining service changes at the next board meeting on April 26. Public hearings will be scheduled in April on the proposed fare increase for express routes.

“The difficult challenge is that we are struggling financially at the same time that public transportation has got to expand,” said Board Chairman Cedric Merlin Powell. “We are looking at ways to maintain service as efficiently and effectively as we can.”

Barker’s recommendation was to eliminate the following four routes:

#80 Hurstbourne Parkway
#59 River Road
#35 Indian Trail
#58 Bashford Manor/Oxmoor.

The following 13 routes will see service reductions effective June 6:

#2 Second Street
#4 Fourth Street
#6 Sixth Street
#15 Market Street
#17 Bardstown Road
#19 Muhammad Ali
#21 Chestnut Street
#25 Oak Street
#27 Hill Street
#31 Middletown
#52 Medical Center Circulator
#55 Westport Road
#72 Clarksville-New Albany.

Four routes will have routing changes: #17 Bardstown Road, #18 Preston-18th Street; #23 Broadway and #62 Breckenridge-Shepherdsville. One of those changes is to ensure that Shalom Towers on Dutchmans Lane will continue to have service. It will be served by the #23 Broadway route instead of the #58 Bashford Manor/Oxmoor.

At the Feb. 22 board meeting, the following express routes were proposed for elimination:

#37X – Iroquois-Fairdale Express
#38X – Deering Express
#45X – Okolona Express
#49X – Westport Road Express
#50X – Dixie Express
#53X – Breckenridge Express
#54X – Manslick Express
#61X – Plainview Express
#64X – Fincastle-Forest Springs Express
#66X – Mount Washington Express
#68X – Prospect Express
#73X – Charlestown Road Express

Ramp closures announced by KYTC

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 5 Office has announced temporary ramp closures on March 17th from 7:00 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. due to guardrail repairs. The following ramps will be closed simultaneously during this work:

• Exit ramp from eastbound Interstate 64 to northbound Interstate 265 (Exit 19)
• Exit ramp from northbound Interstate 265 to westbound Interstate 64 (Exit 25)

The actual starting date and duration of this work may be adjusted if inclement weather or other unforeseen delays occur. Dial 511 or log on to 511.ky.gov for the latest in traffic and travel information in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.