Tuesday October 14, 2025
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Photo: Louisville Metro Council

Councilman Brandon Coan (D-8) in collaboration with the Urban Design Studio at the University of Louisville has unveiled the prototype installation of the first phase of the Old Cardinal Stadium Seating Bus Stop Project.

The prototype installation is the first phase of 15 bus stop locations along a 2-mile stretch of Bardstown Road with two additional stops on Barrett Avenue.

“I am pleased to announce this project has taken a bit of history from the sports world of our city and repurposed it to become a practical if not colorful way to enhance public transportation,” said Coan. “Those who have fond memories of the Old Cardinal Stadium will now be reminded of those memories when they see people using these seats for a new purpose.”

A group of civic-minded friends salvaged 120 seats from the Old Cardinal Stadium demolition on March 20th. The seats were donated by Complete Demolition Services. Metro Council District 8; Urban Design Studio at UofL; Metro Public Works; and Transit Authority of River City worked with local artist and craftsman shop RockerBuilt to develop the 3-seat prototype.

The intention of the Old Cardinal Stadium Seating Bus Stop Project is to demonstrate the creative reuse of part of our City’s history, that was destined for the landfill, to improve public spaces and public transportation. Councilman Coan and Patrick Piuma, of the Urban Design Studio, reached out to People for Urban Progress (PUP) http://peopleup.org, a non-profit organization out of Indianapolis to learn more. The group had developed a similar project reutilizing stadium seating. Ultimately, this project moved forward when the best practices were learned and the partners figured out a process to repurpose the old stadium seats.

The Phase One goal is to provide additional bus stop seating as well as make it a beautification project.

“We wanted to not only increase capacity of bus stop seating along the corridor, but hopefully elevate the image of public transit and draw attention to a heavily used transit corridor with part of our City’s history,” said Patrick Piuma of the Urban Design Studio.

Once the prototype pilot site has been evaluated, the rest of the phase one seats will be fabricated and sponsorship opportunities will be offered to the public for the 16 other predetermined locations to cover costs.

Here is the location for the next 15 installations located along Bardstown Road:https://louisvilleky.gov/sites/default/files/metro_council/members/8/pdf…

After that, 25 other units will go out across the city. Three-seat segments are $850 each and two-seat segments are $637.50 each.  The remaining seat-units will then be offered to other Metro Council district members.

To learn more about how to sponsor an Old Cardinal Stadium Seating Bus Stop, contact Councilman Coan at: 574-1108.

Photo: Louisville Metro Council

Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4) will join the neighbors of Shelby Park and many others for a special unveiling of a plaque which honors two special Louisville Women.

On Tuesday, September 24th, a plaque honoring the accomplishments of Nellie Crawford and Christa Robinson will be unveiled at the corner of East Oak Street and South Jackson.

“This is a very special moment for our Shelby Park Neighborhood and many others throughout our city. Nellie Crawford was an accomplished stage, film and television actress born right here in Louisville. Christa was my Legislative Assistant who was one of the most caring people I have ever encountered. Sadly, she left us too soon earlier this year,” says Sexton Smith.

Born in 1873, Nellie Crawford began her life as a laundress and had a keen interest in acting. She took the stage name of Madam Sul-Te-Wan and was the first African American to sign a major film contract in the infancy of the film world. Through her career she appeared in more than 50 films. She was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1986.

Christa Robinson had a long career as a public servant for Councilwoman Sexton Smith and Congressman John Yarmouth. She passed away in April of this year.

“I want to thank the neighbors of Shelby Park for this fitting tribute to Christa and Nellie,” says Councilwoman Sexton Smith. “To all who see this plaque, please know these are two very dedicated women setting examples for  all of us.”

The unveiling ceremony will take place tomorrow at 5:30pm at the corner of East Oak Street and South Jackson.

Photo: Louisville Metro Council

President David James is calling on everyone in the community to support police all over Metro Louisville after a recent incident were violent graffiti was posted on I-64.

“There is a guaranteed freedom of speech in this country, but we have to draw the line when the speech advocates violence. This recent graffiti sends the wrong message at a time when all of our officers need support as they protect us,” said President James.

The offending graffiti recently appeared on the metal bridge over I-64 near the Cannons Lane exits. Recently, the words “Kill Cops” appeared on the bridge.

“As a community, we must take a stand. Violence is no answer to any problem. The dedicated men and women of every police department in our community roll out on the street every day to do their jobs and keep us safe,” said James. “We must give them our thanks and support.”

Photo: Louisville Metro Council

Councilman Pat Mulvihill (D-10) is sending praise to the community for giving an assist to Solid Waste Management Enforcement (“SWMS”) Officers as they tracked down and impounded the tenth vehicle of 2019 involved in illegal dumping.

“My thanks to everyone who helped SWMS find those who would try to turn our neighborhoods into their own personal dumping grounds,” said the Councilman. “My thanks also to SWMS officers who continue to make illegal dumping a priority. We, on the Metro Council, want to send a strong message if you illegally dump in our neighborhoods, it will be costly when we catch you.”

The Ford Ranger truck with by two individuals was caught on a residential security camera in the Schnitzelburg neighborhood. They were seen dumping a couch on the property.

Unfortunately, the license plate was not visible in the video. Still shots from the video were posted on the weekly District 10 Enewsletter, the Louisville Metro Public Works Facebook page and on Nextdoor asking the community to help identify the individuals.

SWMS Officers received an anonymous tip that led them to the owner of the truck in District 21. The owner stated that he planned to dispose of the couch for free at the Waste Reduction Center, but he didn’t realize it is closed on Mondays. Instead of waiting another day, he dumped it on someone else’s property.

The total cost of a citation for illegal dumping is approximately $750 plus the vehicle will be impounded and the owner will be required to pay all storage fees.

Mayor Greg Fischer joined with Metro Council members and community outreach representatives yesterday to announce the initiatives that will receive Louisville Metro Government funding to continue addressing the needs of homeless individuals and families in the city.

Building on work started early in 2019 when the city allocated $500,000 for programs, the plan provides $1 million from the city’s FY20 operating budget toward initiatives chosen in collaboration with the Coalition for the Homeless to align with the eight recommendations outlined in the University of Louisville study, “Solving Street Homelessness in Louisville, Kentucky,” released in June.

“Louisville, like many American cities, has seen a rise in unsheltered homelessness in recent years and an increase in homeless encampments. We’ve made clear progress but there’s more work to do to ensure that every Louisvillian has a place to call home,” said Mayor Fischer said, adding that, “There is no one-size-fits-all solution. We have to help our homeless population deal with and overcome their challenges one person at a time. That’s what a compassionate city does.”

The allocations include:

  • Funding to move the transitional storage launched at a temporary location in March 2019 to a permanent location at the Salvation Army that will have expanded hours. The storage provides a place where individuals experiencing homelessness can store their belongings when going into shelter.
  • Three options for low-barrier shelter beds via St. Vincent de Paul, Wayside Christian Mission, and the Healing Place.
  • Continued funding for rapid rehousing services and emergency shelter for homeless families, provided by Volunteers of America.
  • Ongoing street outreach teams enhanced by social workers and other professionals who can provide behavioral and mental health counseling, drug and alcohol addiction assessments and counseling services, as well as legal expertise.
  • And the University of Louisville is given the task of evaluating the effectiveness of the individual programs in this initiative.

The newest round of funding is part of work begun in fall 2017 when Mayor Fischer created the Homeless Encampment Task Force, chaired by Eric Friedlander, director of the Office of Resilience and Community Services.

That team helped inform decisions made about the funding allocations in January, which resulted in these outcomes:

  • Wayside has provided 19,607 nights of lodging to a total of nearly 740 different people since opening its low-barrier shelter.
  • Nearly 240 people have found a safe, secure place to store their belongings at the storage units temporarily operated by St. John Center.
  • Nearly 500 clients were served by outreach teams from the St. John Center & UP Louisville.
  • The Healing Place added 24 low-barrier shelter beds, and Volunteers of America served 17 families through various rapid rehousing paths and 63 families at family emergency shelter.

“We know that no one idea will address the multiple issues impacting people who are homeless, nor the complex needs of this diverse population,” said Friedlander. “That’s why I am so appreciative of the work, expertise and understanding of our partners, including organizations that are part of the coalition, and the street outreach groups that engage people where they are. Working together, we’ve shown we can make a difference.”

Metro Councilman Bill Hollander (District 9) said: “This funding builds on the work we started in January.  It provides shelter for men, women and families and also funds outreach workers who can help address the root causes of homelessness.  Even as Louisville Metro deals with a very difficult budget, we can’t ignore the needs of our neighbors experiencing homelessness.”

Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith (District 4) said:  “Our local government is focused on implementing common sense solutions for the complex challenges surrounding those experiencing homelessness. I have stated several times before, there is room for everyone to step up and help. In addition to the more than $1.5 million made available during this past year we still need more businesses, nonprofit organizations, healthcare, education and the interfaith communities to reimagine their roles and create common sense solutions that will produce real results for real people needing assistance because this is our reality.”

Friedlander added that the city also provides support to issues that directly affect homelessness, including $41 million invested in affordable housing over the past four years, implementing a plan to battle substance-use disorders, and directing $1.5 million in federal funding to local agencies such as the coalition, Volunteers of America, St. John Center and Wayside.

“The Coalition for the Homeless is so excited to see the city’s commitment to addressing the needs and best practices identified in the University of Louisville ‘Solving Street Homeless in Louisville, Kentucky’ Study,” said Natalie Harris, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless.  “We know these important programs saved lives over the last six months and are excited to see them extended and improved.”

The U of L report, “Solving Street Homelessness in Louisville, Kentucky,” was the result of a five-month long assessment study that outlined the process of applying best practices to Louisville’s Continuum of Care (CoC), a process developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that helps communities across America address the problems of homelessness in a coordinated, comprehensive and strategic way.

Photo: Louisville Metro Council

Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey (D-3) will make a special visit to the S Bar on Saturday, September 7th to make a special presentation as the restaurant celebrates its one-year anniversary.

“The S Bar is an example of how local small businesses are a crucial part of Louisville Metro’s economy. I want to make sure we recognize the efforts of Damida Batson and her employees because their efforts make our economy grow,” says Dorsey.

The Councilwoman will present the S Bar with a special proclamation at 1:00pm.

The S Bar is a healthy food alternative to the District Three community.  Ms. Batson’s goal to encourage healthful living and eating is shown in their specialties of sandwiches, spuds, salads and smoothies.  It is located at 1442 Dixie Highway in Louisville.

For more information, contact Councilwoman Dorsey’s office at 574-1103.

Photo: Louisville Metro Council

As a result of several recent drive-by shootings, Councilwoman Donna Purvis (D-5) will host a community meeting on Saturday, September 7th or the residents of the area. The most recent of these left dozens of bullets and injured one person.

“I want to make sure the people of South 38th Street stay aware of what is being done to investigate this recent string of shootings. It is a chance to ask questions and learn what the community can do to help Louisville Metro Police. We want everyone to be safe,” says the Councilwoman.

The community meeting will be at Portland Memorial Missionary Baptist Church located at 3800 West Market Street beginning at 1:00pm.

Joining Councilwoman Purvis will be Major Ryan Bates, Commander of the LMPD’s 2nd Division, and Pastor Stephen Smith of the Portland Memorial Missionary Baptist Church.

“I want to invite everyone to come and join us,” says Purvis.

For more information about the community meeting on Saturday, contact Councilwoman Purvis’ office at 574-1105.

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