City planning and local leaders ask what could BG roads be?

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - For the last month, the community has been asked “What Could BG Be?”, an over 100-question survey seeking input on aspirations for Bowling Green over the next 25 years.

As that survey draws to a close in just four days, city planning officials are narrowing the question a bit, asking more specifically what BG roads could be.

The “What Could BG Be?” initiative partnered with the City-County Planning Commission for a public engagement open house Thursday evening. The event sought input on proposed transportation projects that will take place over the next 25 years.

“This is our second round of public input. So we have our list of proposed projects that will be in the plan, It will be on a website you can get to through WarrenPC.org,” said Commission Executive Director Ben Peterson.

Peterson said one of the larger issues that came up while talking with the community was congestion, with one attendee proposing more travel options.

“Access to bike lanes and Greenway spaces, those are one and the same from a cyclist perspective,” said Krystalin Thompson. “So you get more people out of their individual cars and you’re going to fix the congestion issue.”

Peterson stressed the importance of community input, saying it helps the commission prioritize projects and set funding to get the best bang for the buck.

“Usually, we have somewhere around a billion dollars worth of need and get about $50 million a year, so it’s really tough to make up ground on transportation projects,” Peterson said. “Fortunately, we have a great local legislative delegation that’s been very successful in upping the amount we’ve been getting.”

He added that community partnerships have been crucial in getting many of the already existing projects off the ground.

“For example, with local funds, we have the city of Bowling Green that has partnered with a property owner to extend Bluegrass Farms Boulevard. That’ll be a key connector between Scottsville Road and Plano Road and bring some economic development there,” Peterson said. “State funding, there’s state funding for specific projects as well. The lion’s share of the big projects comes from federal tax dollars and the Federal Highway Administration.”

Peterson said two of the fastest-moving transportation projects currently are the widening of the bypass near the medical center and the expansion of Nashville Road near Potter Children’s Home.

Finalizing and adopting the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan is slated for later this summer.

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