The newest NKYmapLAB project explores ‘complete street’ improvements along Winston Avenue in Covington’s Latonia neighborhood. The project was released as part of National Community Planning Month, which is celebrated each October by the American Planning Association and its 50,000+ members.

A ‘complete street’ is designed to accommodate all modes of travel: bicyclists, pedestrians, mass transit, and motorized vehicles. Important sections of Winston Avenue do not accommodate pedestrians well currently.

Winston Avenue starts at Ritte’s Corner and extends south to the Latonia Centre commercial and retail strip development near Howard Litzler Drive. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has determined that Winston Avenue needs full-depth pavement replacement. Resurfacing the road will not be adequate to meet current and future transportation needs.

The complete street approach supports one of the goals of the Latonia Small Area Study; to “increase the pedestrian and bicycle amenities within the corridor, without disrupting the volume of traffic the roadway can accommodate.”

This mapLAB project explores current non-automobile conditions along Winston Avenue, the major destinations and areas that generate pedestrian traffic, and investments made in placemaking by the Center for Great Neighborhoods over the last several years. It also includes several brief video interviews highlighting key concepts of the proposed improvements.

"Winston Avenue is one of the gateways into Covington. It has unique opportunities and challenges with industrial and commercial uses on one side and residential uses on the other. Instead of using Winston Avenue as a border between the two, the complete street approach facilitates its use as a bridge,” said Ryan Kent, GISP, Principal GIS Data Analyst.

“I expect that the investments made in placemaking by the Center for Great Neighborhoods will continue to strengthen the neighborhood as a destination for people. With the upcoming branding efforts, I’m excited to see how the region responds to Latonia as it becomes more visible and more accessible from a non-automobile perspective,” said Louis Hill, AICP, GISP, Geospatial Data Analyst with PDS.

For more information about the project, email Louis Hill or Ryan Kent or call them at 859.331.8980. NKYmapLAB is available online and on Twitter @NKYmapLAB.

Residents, business leaders, and Covington officials embarked on creating a new plan for the Latonia neighborhood in November 2009. The plan they finalized in early 2011 was crafted with implementation as a key recommendation for moving forward.

The Strategic Action Committee still meets monthly to discuss the plan’s objectives and move its recommendations into reality.

“The Committee has done a lot of great things over the years to implement the plan,” said Kate Esarey Greene, Program Manager for Community Development with The Center for Great Neighborhoods of Covington. “From building a new park at Latonia Elementary to strategic façade improvement programs to National Register of Historic Places designations, the Committee has constantly sought to move the neighborhood, and the plan forward.”

The plan was crafted by a community-driven endeavor which was managed by PDS throughout 2010. The Latonia Small Area Study became a formal part of the county’s comprehensive plan in February 2011. Since that time the written recommendations have been brought to life with citizen engagement, management by the Center for Great Neighborhoods, and assistance from PDS and city officials.

“The Latonia study was my first large-scale project to manage,” explained James Fausz, AICP, a senior planner for PDS. “One of the things I enjoyed the most was meeting people from the neighborhood and helping them focus their efforts to make their community even better. It was a pleasure working with them to craft the plan and it has been even more rewarding seeing the plan’s success through working with the Strategic Action Committee.”

Donna Horine, a lifelong Latonia resident, study Task Force member, and original member of the Strategic Action Committee explained, “We [the Committee] have had the chance to do some really fun things to help implement the plan.”

“I think a lot of the projects have helped make people more aware of Latonia and what it has to offer. Things like the video, working with local Realtors on what Latonia is about, and even the 5k bringing people into the community have helped us move the area forward from the plan we made a few years back,” she said.

While much has been accomplished, there is still more work needed to implement the plan fully. Longer term recommendations like redeveloping the Latonia Plaza Shopping Center, increasing tree canopy coverage to aid in reducing stormwater runoff, and improving east-west mobility south of the study area to reduce freight traffic will likely take many years and the continued efforts of interested citizens to move forward.

If you would like to get involved with the Strategic Action Committee or find out more about its activities, contact Kate Esarey Greene with The Center for Great Neighborhoods or call her at 859.547.5552.

The Latonia Strategic Action Committee meets the 4th Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM at the Latonia Christian Church. Guests are always welcomed.