(The following story by Scheri Smith appeared on The Courier-Journal website on June 12.)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A railroad trestle that crosses Belmar Drive between the Belmar and Camp Taylor neighborhoods could get a $12,000 face-lift this year to make the area more inviting.
City and neighborhood leaders want to paint the trestle and add neighborhood welcome signs.
Norfolk Southern Railroad owns the trestle. Money for the project — if it is approved by the railroad — was secured from the city by Metro Councilman Jim King, whose 10th District includes the neighborhoods.
At this point, the project is waiting on Norfolk Southern, King said.
Robin Chapman, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, said it is being considered.
The rusted steel trestle is an eyesore that makes both neighborhoods look bad, said Liz Martin, president of the Belmar Neighborhood Association.
Other problems, such as sidewalks beneath the trestle that aren’t accessible to people with wheelchairs, are being studied but are not included in the painting project, said Rob Holtzmann, King’s legislative aide.
Martin said area residents are embarrassed by the trestle’s appearance. “Ever since we started our association in 2002, this has been one of the biggest requests,” she said.
But trestle maintenance has little to do with aesthetics, Chapman said.
“We’ve got too many other functional things to look after,” he said. “Occasionally we get requests from communities to beautify bridges in their area, and we work with them to do that.”
This would be the second such request in the area. The trestle that crosses Preston Highway near Audubon Park, which is also owned by Norfolk Southern, will be painted as part of the Preston corridor improvement project.
Phillip Kavanaugh, chairman of the Camp Zachary Taylor Neighborhood Association, said the trestle improvement project would be great for the area.
“This neighborhood has been overlooked for years,” Kavanaugh said. “Things are starting to change around here to make everybody feel better about the place they live.”