LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Six people have been struck and killed by cars in Lexington this year, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

With every pedestrian death comes new calls to improve safety in Lexington.

“Public safety is the number one priority of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Team Kentucky,” said Natasha Lacy, PIO of the Kentucky Department of Highways District 7 of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. “This includes motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and those who might use scooters or non-motorized vehicles.”

Lacy says the firm’s engineers regularly study potential improvements for all highway users based on need and funding.

“Currently we are doing audits for different intersections and looking at them to see what kind of changes we can make,” Lacy said.

The firm says its engineers will visit busy areas, like Winchester and Nicholasville roads, to see if the intersections would benefit from additions such as crosswalks or additional lighting.

If community members want to request these changes, Lacy says those requests should be sent to your local city or county government, even if the road is a state highway.

“We always invite local authorities to send us requests, because we are ready to review them at any time, and we do that regularly to see what the public’s needs are,” Lacy said.

For each request, the Firm is subject to a set of criteria. For example, with a sidewalk request, they will review the area based on need, safety, feasibility, ADA compliance, existing nearby crossings and pedestrian facilities, and devices necessary to facilitate safe passage.

Lacy says aside from construction projects, the state doesn’t build sidewalks and the city provides street lighting through the state permitting process.

Copyright 2024 WKYT. All rights reserved.