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RESOLUTION
Whereas, the mission of the Louisville Downtown Residents
Association is making Downtown a strong, vibrant neighborhood
and to enhance the quality of life for Downtown residents;
and
Whereas, Louisville can join other cities such as Portland,
OR and San Francisco, CA in removing interstates that served
as barriers to natural attractions, thus encouraging growth
in the city core; and
Whereas, our community has a unique opportunity to seriously
examine how we want Louisville to look and function in the
next century by exploring every option to strengthen our
city, making it more attractive and livable; and
Whereas, an expanded, more open Waterfront Park could serve
as the crown jewel in our City of Parks-a focal point as
important to Louisville as Central Park is to New York City
and Millennium Park is to Chicago; and
Whereas, eliminating I-64 along the river would not only
open up more green space, large parcels of land would be
made available for development and would encourage further
commercial and residential use along and near the river
west of Downtown; and
Whereas, the current plan for I-64 Downtown removes the
Third Street exit, eliminating I-64 along the river would
only remove one other access point, the 9th Street ramp;
and
Whereas, removing the 9th Street ramp will eliminate the
barrier that divides our community economically and racially
and will allow Downtown to better connect to the West End
advancing commercial, residential and recreational development
in that area; and
Whereas, a creative, planning group is looking at ways
to make the best of a 600 foot wide, redesigned Spaghetti
Junction east of I-65, a simplified interchange with a smaller
impact on the area is better for all neighborhoods affected;
and
Whereas, uncritical support of the current plan for I-64
and Spaghetti Junction simply because the money has been
promised ignores the fact the current plan is still in flux
with only a small portion of the 14-year project funded;
and
Therefore, the Louisville Downtown Residents Association
supports an independent and complete feasibility study of
how best to eliminate I-64 Downtown along the river and
simplify Spaghetti Junction east of I-65.
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