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Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Preston Highway
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By Darhiana M. Mateo dmateo@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal |
Susan Washburn, right,
who owns Neat Nails and
Terrific |
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As
Lynne Robinson and Sandy
Sexton left one of their
"favorite little
stores," the Seek and
Find Treasures
consignment and antique
shop near Audubon Park,
one recent afternoon,
they discussed recent
improvements along the
busy Preston Highway
corridor. "We think it's great. The benches and trash cans are wonderful. The sidewalks are very pretty. The streetlights by the railroad tracks are really good for safety reasons," said Sexton, who travels the road to work each day. |
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| As the two friends finished loading
their latest bargain, a wooden rocker, into the back of a truck,
Robinson paused to admire the red brick pattern on the new sidewalks.
The project was finished this month, eight months after work started on Preston Highway between Hess and Phillips lanes. "I'm sure the businesses around here appreciate it," said Robinson, who lives north of Audubon Park on Preston Highway. Susan Washburn, who owns Neat Nails and Terrific Tans at 3034 Preston Highway, does -- she believes the new look will be good for business. "The area was looking pretty run down through here," she said. "The sidewalks were broken up. It was hard for people to just walk up and down. It looks much better now." Thomas McLendon, manger at Seek and Find, 3137 Preston Highway, agreed that "before it was kind of ugly and bland -- unattractive." The face-lift includes new sidewalks with brick pavers for accents, new street furniture and waste bins, and more than a dozen streetlights, said Drew Shryock, assistant director of the Metro Development Authority. The "streetscape project," which cost about $500,000, is part of Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson's initiative dibbed Corridors of Opportunities in Louisville, or COOL. The idea is to revitalize major roads and streets to stimulate retail development. "People that travel through the corridor now notice a physical change," Shryock said. "It encourages people to stop, get out of their cars and patronize businesses." As part of the effort, a retail development unit works to breathe new life into old strip centers, works with business owners who are leasing their properties but hoping to own, and provides façade loans to help owners remodel exteriors, Shryock said. Making the move from leasing to owning is vital to business development, he said. "When someone owns a property, they're more conscientious about the appearance and upkeep." Reporter Darhiana M. Mateo can be reached at (502) 582-7086. |
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