Lexington council sets up new group to tackle traffic enforcement, collisions, deaths
The Lexington council is putting together a multi-pronged task force to address safety on city streets for pedestrians and motorists.
The task force, dubbed STREEET -- Shared Travel Requires Engineering, Education and Enforcement of Traffic -- will focus on engineering, education and enforcement.
Vice Mayor Dan Wu announced the new task force — made up of council members, city officials and community partners—at a news conference Tuesday.
“Over the last several years, we’ve seen a concerning number of pedestrian safety incidents and incidents of dangerous driving,” Wu said.
Traffic and traffic safety are often the most frequent complaints council members receive from the public, he said.
The task force will be focused on concrete solutions to address driver and pedestrian safety in the next several months. The task force will have its first report in fall 2025.
The task force will be co-chaired by Council members Liz Sheehan and David Sevigny.
“The current designs of our streets reflect this focus on efficiency and speed for cars and trucks at the cost of the safety of residents who get around by foot, on bike or stroller, wheelchair, or any other form of transportation,” Sheehan said.
Sheehan, who will chair the engineering subcommittee, said the group will examine solutions other cities have used, such as using street art and bollards as traffic calming devices.
“We look forward to working alongside colleagues and other expert members of this task force to identify cutting-edge, data-driven solutions being used around the country to help address immediate pedestrian and traffic safety challenges,” Sheehan said.
Sevigny has been working on the issue of traffic safety since the death Mia Alayna Ibrahim, 33, who was hit by a vehicle at the intersection of Nicholasville Road and Rosemont Garden. The vehicle ran a red light while Ibrahim was in a crosswalk in December 2023.
Sevigny will oversee the enforcement subcommittee. Sevigny said some solutions that group may explore is targeted enforcement areas -- at specific locations and at specific times -- for such violations as red-light running.
State law prohibits the use of “red light cameras” to catch people running red lights, Sevigny said.
Council member Hannah LeGris will chair the education subcommittee of the task force. LeGris said getting all Lexington residents to understand traffic rules and comply is an essential part of improving safety.
“We know that we have a lot of work to do in Lexington when it comes to distracted driving, red light running and fostering more respect for those moving at a human pace along our streets and our sidewalks,” LeGris said.
“Through targeted education initiatives such as workshops, community meetings, school programs, and interactive digital campaigns, we aim to reach residents of all ages with practical tools and reinforce our shared responsibility to safer streets.”
Wu said he hopes the task force’s work will be wrapped up in the next year, but some of the initiative proposed by the task force will likely be implemented sooner.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 12:19 PM.
