On Street Walking Paths
Allowing everyone to walk safely on neighborhood streets without sidewalks
Many of the streets in our neighborhood were built without sidewalks, forcing residents and visitors to walk in streets alongside cars and trucks. This creates daily unsafe situations for drivers, bikers, and walkers alike.
Sidewalks shown in green in the Highlands-Douglass neighborhood. There are no sidewalks or crosswalks to Cherokee Park, and many gaps on residential road’s sidewalks, forcing people and families to walk in the streets with cars and trucks.
As part of the HDNA approved neighborhood plan from 2006, the Board, community, Louisville Metro, and Metro Council recommended forming “better connections to provide safer bicycle/pedestrian access to Cherokee Park” and “Form better pedestrian connections internally for Highlands-Douglass neighborhood by constructing sidewalks” on Dorothy, Eleanor, Woodbourne, Valletta, Wallace, Village, and Spring.
While we would prefer to build sidewalks to complete our sidewalk network, another option is to paint on street walking paths on existing pavement. This would allow dozens of more miles of walking areas to be built, versus the cost of sidewalks.
Many neighborhood streets have excess width, and excess driving and parking capacity. One side of the street can be converted into a walking area, marked by paint and signage, and protected by flex posts and armadillo barriers at key points.
We are working with Louisville Metro’s Department of Transportation to allow on street walking paths to be built, with support from our city council person Ben Reno-Weber.
Letter HDNA sent to Louisville’s DOT April 17, 2026
Dear Deputy Mayor George, Director Sydnor, and Director Bell,
We, the members of the Highlands-Douglass Neighborhood Association, are writing to express our support for an on-street walking path on Eleanor Ave between Woodford Pl and Weber Ave.
Eleanor is already used by a lot of neighbors for walking and jogging. But because there are no sidewalks, it is often the case that pedestrians are forced away from the curb by parked cars and into the middle of the street.
Based on past emails and conversations we’ve had with Public Works on the topic, we understand that building a standard, concrete sidewalk for this stretch of road would cost nearly $500,000 — an amount that, given budget constraints, is unlikely to be prioritized for funding.
In 2022-23, at the request of Council Member Cassie Chambers Armstrong, Public Works prepared a design concept for a painted “on-street walking path” for Eleanor that would cost less than $25,000, and that could be paid for within the constraints of the council district’s CIF funding.
However, CM Armstrong left office before the concept was completed and when it was presented, Public Works officials maintained that building such a path would require removing parking from both sides of the road. Given the modest but consistent demand for parking on Eleanor, the HDNA felt that such a change would not be supported by neighborhood residents.
With the above in mind, we are reaching out once again to express our support for a painted on-street walking path on Eleanor — one that maintains two-way traffic and a parking lane on the opposite side of the street. We believe that such a solution could be a cost-effective way to make the street safer and more inviting, while also leaving plenty of space to meet the parking demands of residents. We are happy to be the first neighborhood association to allow a pilot of this.
We leave the design details up to you, but we would be happy with no parking signs and a simple hatched painted lane on one side. The walking lane could be delineated with armadillo-type lane segregators, instead of vertical flex posts, allowing emergency vehicles like fire trucks to easily navigate the street. We can point you to guidance by the USDOT FHWA, the US Access Board, and multiple US state DOTs that support paved shoulder walkways like this.
Finally, we recognize that this is a request for a unique type of project. There are very few “on-street walking paths” in the city, and they mostly have been implemented in and around parks. Given the uniqueness of the request, we are writing to formally and strongly express our support for such a project. We feel that Eleanor could serve as a pilot project for this type of design — one that could potentially be replicated elsewhere across the city on streets without sidewalks and with low on-street parking demand.
We appreciate your attention to this request and we look forward to hearing back from you on this matter.
With Gratitude,
The Highlands Douglass Neighborhood Association
Michael Schnuerle, President
Stuart Miles, Vice President
Sherry Cornell, Secretary
Bill Johnston, Treasurer
Approved by HDNA Board unanimously during April 2026 public board meeting
History and Details
Eleanor Ave – along .38 miles, or ~2,000 ft, of roadway between Weber Ave and Woodford Place
- April 2026 – HDNA Board sent a letter of support to Public Works at their request.
- July 2022 – HDNA Board members met in person on Eleanor with Public Works engineers and planners.
- March 2021 – Detailed ideas and plans created by Board
- February 2017 – Issues raised about street safety on Eleanor and other streets at Board meeting
- July 2006 – Included in city and council approved neighborhood plan
