Thursday, February 04, 1999
12th Street debate continues
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer Contributor
COVINGTON — Alan New wasn't sure Wednesday which of two competing plans to improve 12th Street he favored.
He just wants something done.
Mr. New attended a public hearing at John G. Carlisle Elementary School, where the Kentucky Department of Transportation displayed four alternatives to spruce up 12th Street from the Interstate 75 exit east to Scott Boulevard. He heard Citizens United to Re-think 12th, a residents group, say the best option is to put utility lines underground, plant trees and start a plan to rehabilitate buildings in the area.
At first, Mr. New was just upset.
“How much longer are we going to drag this out?” said Mr. New, who lives in Latonia but grew up on West 12th and still owns a house there.
“We don't know if we should sell our property. Nobody wants to move into this area. The bottom line is, people want an answer.”
The answer the state prefers costs $12.5 million. It calls for widening 12th Street about 57 feet to the south, creating one eastbound and one westbound lane, putting in a 44-foot wide raised median and adding parallel parking to one side of the street in each direction.
Money from state and federal gasoline taxes would pay for the work.
Joe Lubbers, who lives on Lee Street, likes the state's idea.
“How can you invite people into Covington and then tell them not to use the quickest route to the expressway,” Mr. Lubbers said. “They can do light rail in the middle or take it out and put in more lanes.”
Other state plans call for a 20-foot wide median, angle parking and parallel parking on both sides of each lane.
Covington Mayor Denny Bowman, an opponent of the state's plan, said tearing up houses ruins one of the resources that makes the city special.
“We do have a plan for 12th Street,” Mr. Bowman said. “The first plan is not to destroy it. It's a wonderful institutional (and) residential area that needs help.”
Mr. Bowman also said in a three-page letter to Joseph Kearnes, Transportation Cabinet chief district engineer at the Fort Mitchell office, that widening the road would further divide downtown Covington from other parts of the city and create unsafe conditions for pedestrians who would have to cross 12th Street.
In addition to adding the trees and putting power lines underground, the citizens' proposal calls for new turn lanes at 12th and Main and Lee streets, Holman, Russell and Madison avenues and Scott Boulevard. Total cost: about $9.5 million.
The group also wants the
state to set aside money so an experienced urban designer can guide the project.
George Hoffman, a project engineer at the Transportation Department's Fort Mitchell office, likes the idea of uniting citizens and state agencies, but he said another funding source would then have to be found.
“You can't use transportation money for the rehabilitation of buildings and putting utilities underground,” Mr. Hoffman said. “This is not the traditional highway project where we're moving large volumes of traffic. A big part of the project is an appearance issue.”
Beth Sewell, executive director of the Covington Business Council, said it would be difficult to attract business or residents to the area if the road is not widened.
After hearing both sides of the debate, Mr. New decided he favored the state's plan because of the new Jillian's entertainment complex at the I-75 exit at 12th Street.
“I feel like, unless that area grows along with Jillian's and is cleaned up, I don't think Jillian's will invest any more money,” Mr. New said. “And I think Jillian's (would) close. You can't stay stagnant, and I think that's what we are.”
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