ANECDOTES
Customers complaints from customers about traffic
• Increasing
(especially after High Street intersection closed)
• One older customer gave up after attempting a trial run
Other Businesses
• South Limestone businesses closing, letting employees go
• Similar business: Sales “fell off a cliff” in August & September
• Festival Market business owner / customer: “Business sucks”

Two Questions:
How many of our customers
come from South Lexington?
How has that changed since
South Limestone closure?

IMPACTS
40504
40513 40503
40514
40517
40356

IMPACTS
30
Southside
Percent
of Lowell’s Customer Base

IMPACTS
30
Southside
Percent
of Lowell’s Customer Base

IMPACTS
30
Southside
Percent
of Lowell’s Customer Base
After Closure
¼¾
of Southside customers lost
Since July 22nd, a full 1/3 of those South Lexington
and Nicholasville customers have evaporated

IMPACTS
30
Southside
Percent
of Lowell’s Customer Base
After Closure
¼¾
of Southside customers lost
Zero drop in rest of customer base

If Lowell’s lost 10% of customers following South Lime closure…
What is the impact to
all of downtown?

TRAFFIC
South Broadway
36,000
South Limestone
25,000

TRAFFIC
South Broadway
61,000

TRAFFIC
West Main
19,000
South Broadway
61,000

TRAFFIC
West Main
19,000
Old Frankfort Pike
7,000
South Broadway
61,000

TRAFFIC
West Main
19,000
Old Frankfort Pike Over 90,000 vehicles
7,000 in disrupted traffic
patterns
20% of all drivers
South Broadway
61,000

TRAFFIC
True Costs of Traffic
45 mins = 5% of waking hours

TRAFFIC
True Costs of Traffic
45 mins = 5% of waking hours
Retail Office Service Quality of Life
Not buying at stores or Not working or Not delivering goods Not spending time with
restaurants producing and services family and friends

TRUE COST
11 -5
Lexington Downtown Impact
$
Billion
Size of Economy
8 %
of Local Economy
%
Hit to Downtown Businesses
$

TRUE COST
11 -5
Lexington Downtown Impact
$
Billion
Size of Economy
8 %
of Local Economy Hit to Downtown Businesses
%
Business Costs
$
84 to 92 $
Million
Lost Business Attributable to South Lime Closure
A 2x economic multiplier assumed for loss calculations

TRUE COST
Business Costs
$
84 to 92 $
Million
Lost Business Attributable to South Lime Closure

TRUE COST
Business Costs
$
84 to 92 $
Million
Lost Business Attributable to South Lime Closure
360,000
$
per Day

TRUE COST
Business Costs
$
84 to 92 $
Million
Lost Business Attributable to South Lime Closure
700 to 1,000+ Jobs

TRUE COST
Business Costs
$
84 to 92 $
Million
Lost Business Attributable to South Lime Closure
Project Costs
9 or 13 or 15 or 17
$ $ $
Direct Construction Costs
$
Million

TRUE COST
Business Costs
$
84 to 92 $
Million
Lost Business Attributable to South Lime Closure
Project Costs
9 or 13 or 15 or 17
$ $ $
Direct Construction Costs
$
Million
Total Costs
90 to 110
$ $
Million

When will a beautified
South Limestone return
$100 million or 1,000
jobs to Lexington’s
economy?

A QUESTION
“Are these numbers right?”

A QUESTION
“AreWrong Question
these numbers right?”

A BETTER QUESTION
Right Question:
“How did we let ourselves vote for
such economic devastation without
any idea of the true impacts?”

TWITTER TRAFFIC

TRUE COST
3 2
Business Owners Walking Tour
Weeks Weeks
Since businesses pleaded for help Since you saw devastation first-hand
A 2x economic multiplier assumed for loss calculations

TRUE COST
3 2
Business Owners Walking Tour
Weeks Weeks
Since businesses pleaded for help Since you saw devastation first-hand
When will LFUCG address
$100 million hole in our city?
A 2x economic multiplier assumed for loss calculations

South Limestone:
What to do

SEEDS TO SOLUTION
Commissioner Webb & Project Manager Milligan
have already identified how to accelerate the
completion of South Limestone.
They just aren’t willing to do so.

SEEDS TO SOLUTION
Ask for more people / effort from utilities
Ask cement company to stay open past 5PM
Deal with noise ordinances

SEEDS TO SOLUTION
Uncomfortable / effort from utilities
Ask for more people
Uncomfortable to stay open past 5PM
Ask cement company
Uncomfortable
Deal with noise ordinances

$100 million is at stake.
1000 jobs are at stake.

$100 million is at stake.
1000 jobs are at stake.
Get over your discomfort.

Cheapside | Vine | Main:
What to do

SEEDS TO SOLUTION
Give “full faith and credit” to no one.

SEEDS TO SOLUTION
Give “full faith and credit” to no one.
Only trust detailed plans of execution.

PRETTY PICTURES

PRETTY PICTURES
The problem?

PRETTY PICTURES
The problem?
This isn’t South Lime…

PRETTY PICTURES
Non-Existent Buildings
& Storefronts
Gleaming Marble
Sidewalks?

REALITY

REALITY

PRETTY PICTURES

PRETTY PICTURES
Without detailed plans of execution,
it’s just a picture

KEY QUESTIONS
• Could all three streets, as with South Limestone, be completely closed?
• Which sections of which streets will be closed? For what periods? What is the
planned sequence of closures?
• When can each business on the affected streets expect their businesses to be
interrupted?
• How long will such business interruptions last? What will those interruptions
look like? Where will they be most severe?
• How can we accelerate the project where business interruptions will be most
profound?
• Can we sequence closures around business cycles? Could retailers be least
affected during the holiday shopping season? Could work near outdoor cafés be
completed by spring?
• How will the city or DDA assist businesses during the closures? How will such
assistance be more effective than what was done for South Limestone? Targeted
ad campaigns? Special events? Shuttle services from parking garages?
• Will drivers need to find alternate routes (as with South Limestone)?
• What are the likely sources of project delay? How will those be mitigated?

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Lack of Detail
If they can’t provide step-
by-step sequence of how
the project will unfold…

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Lack of Detail
If they can’t provide step-
Fail
by-step sequence of how
the project will unfold…

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Economic Impact Estimate
If they can’t provide an
estimate of the true
economic disruption
caused by the new
streetscapes…

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Economic Impact Estimate
If they can’t provide an
estimate of the true
Fail
economic disruption
caused by the new
streetscapes…

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Pretty Pictures

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Pretty Pictures
Fail

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Vague Assurances
“We’ll take care not to
disrupt businesses…”

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Vague Assurances

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Vague Assurances
Fail

SIGNS OF FAILURE
Lack of Detail
No Economic Estimates
Pretty Pictures
Vague Assurances