By Travis Gettys
Enquirer contributor

FORT WRIGHT - City officials met Thursday with members of the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission to discuss long-term goals for a 3-mile stretch of Ky. 17 near Interstate 275.

The regional planning commission hopes to complete a study by the end of the year, and then draw up a comprehensive plan to develop a retail and residential corridor with walking and bike trails along Banklick Creek, near the site of a Wal-Mart scheduled to open in September.

The plan will likely call for a network of access roads and a landscaped median, with bicycle lanes, sidewalks and mass transit stops to encourage more pedestrian traffic and fewer vehicles.

Two roundabouts, or traffic circles, could also be added at the north and south ends of the corridor, which planners said would alleviate traffic problems associated with left-hand turns.

"The primary benefit is continuous (traffic) flow, which means that more cars can go through it," said Keith Logsdon, deputy director of long-range planning for the commission.

Roundabouts, which are increasingly used across the country, are also safer, Logsdon said, because 34 possible collision points occur at a four-way intersection, while only eight exist in a roundabout.

Fort Wright officials asked the planning commission to develop the long-range plan to avoid patchwork zoning regulations that can result in a sea of parking lots and uninteresting architecture.

"It's how this area looks and functions that's most important," Logsdon said.

Planners suggested that stores, offices and residences be built close to one another and close to the road, with parking lots in the rear and places for pedestrians to stop and rest.

"An important element is connecting the greenways to the more typical retail areas," said Larisa Keith, principal planner with Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission.

While Fort Wright hasn't added residents at the same pace as some of its neighbors, city officials hope the new development will draw shoppers from high-growth areas like Independence, just a few miles south on Ky. 17.

Officials also hope that, by planning years in advance of most new construction, they can avoid traffic problems that have plagued many business districts.

"Access and traffic flow is the critical ingredient for Ky. 17," said City Administrator Larry Klein.