TAYLOR MILL — A public hearing on a controversial plan to develop a five-lane route through much of Taylor Mill into the rest of southern Kenton County has been set for July 9.

        “We know a lot of the citizens of Taylor Mill just don't want anything,” said Mike Bezold, project manager at the Kentucky Department of Transportation district office in Fort Mitchell.

        “But the road doesn't just go through Taylor Mill. It goes through Covington and Independence and serves points south of there, like Morningview and Piner. We have to look at the future growth in the southern part of Kenton County.”

IF YOU GO

• What: Public hearing on the alternates for reconstructing a 4.2-mile stretch of Ky. 16 from Hands Pike to Interstate 275.     • When: 6-9 p.m. July 9.     • Where: Scott High School gymnasium, 5400 Old Taylor Mill Road.     • If you can't go: Written comments will be accepted at the meeting. Or call Mike Bezold, project manager for the Ky. 16 reconstruction, at (859) 341-2700, or write the Kentucky Department of Highways District 6, P.O. Box 17130, Covington 41017.

        The two new alternative routes under consideration would significantly increase access to Ky. 16, which is Taylor Mill Road, from Interstate 275. Taylor Mill Road goes through downtown Taylor Mill.

        One option calls for widening 4.2 miles of Ky. 16, from the two, one-way lanes that curve and twist, to five lanes that are a straighter shot from I-275 to Hands Pike.

        There would be turning lanes and possibly landscaped medians. At most 120 structures would have to be removed, Mr. Bezold said.

        Another option would leave much of Taylor Mill Road as it is, widening instead Old Taylor Mill Road, from two winding lanes to five, near I-275 to Taylor Mill Road, just south of Hands Pike. That would take out about 70 homes, businesses and farms.

        The schedule calls for the state to buy rights of way in 2003 and begin construction on the $40 million project in 2005.

        Taylor Mill's City Council has said that too many points of access onto Ky. 16 have created “a dangerous road that is heavily burdened and in desperate need of modifications.”

        Opponents have said they fear that a five-lane road would turn their quiet town into a copy of U.S. 27 in Campbell County, with its numerous curb cuts and a glut of businesses.

        “There's so much growth in and around Taylor Mill that (Ky. 16) just can't handle all the traffic,” Mr. Bezold said. “A lot of people who live along the road say it's impossible for them to leave their houses any later than 7 in the morning. The traffic is backed up so bad that it's just bumper- to-bumper.”

        The July 9 hearing will start at 6 p.m. with an explanation of the two proposed routes, Mr. Bezold said. After that, interested parties can study displays of the two alternatives and express their opinions.

        Although a similar hearing was held in September, highway officials say they have since made some modifications to the two possible routes. Not everyone is happy with that proposal, though.

        Jamie Schworer, who operates Schworer Beverly Hills Limousine Service in Taylor Mill, said the new route would destroy the picturesque, rural community where she grew up.

        “It'll destroy the reason that so many people moved to Taylor Mill — the beautiful countryside, the hills, the trees and the peacefulness,” Ms. Schworer said.

        “A lot of people have lived here 50 or 60 years,” Ms. Schworer said. “What are they going to do? It's going to ruin their lives.”

        Mr. Bezold said: “There's been so much development there now that even if we don't do any work (on Ky. 16), it's still not the same community those people moved to.”

        Originally four alternates were proposed, but two have since been scrapped, mainly because subdivisions have been built in the way, or are planned for those routes, Mr. Bezold said.

        “After the last public hearing, the state's preferred alternate was the Old Taylor Mill route, but if an overwhelming majority of people want us to go along Ky. 16, we'll look at it,” Mr. Bezold said.

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