LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee on Monday reviewed Lexington's Pavement Management Plan, which uses data-driven methods to prioritize repairs to the city's 2,355 lane miles of city-owned roads.

Commissioner Martin presented details on how the city allocates its $13 million annual paving budget across different road classes. The plan uses data to maintain the 2,355 lane miles of city-owned roads. Local roads controlled by council districts receive 40 percent of annual funding, while 10 percent supports preventive maintenance such as crack sealing and pavement rejuvenation to extend road life.

The paving allocation formula assigns funds to each council district based on the percentage of roadways with overall condition indices below 60, the threshold for repaving consideration. The Pavement Management Plan outlines the strategic approach to pavement management, defining the data-driven process for selecting paving projects and establishing the proportion of available funding.

The committee also reviewed a draft Complete Streets Design Manual intended to reshape how Lexington builds and redesigns streets. In 2022, Lexington adopted its Complete Streets policy, which applies to all public and private roadway projects in Fayette County. The draft Complete Streets Design Manual sets standards for how the city and developers must design streets to accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and drivers.

The Complete Streets initiative works in tandem with Lexington's Vision Zero policy, a commitment to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2050, and the urgency became clear in 2023 when Lexington experienced 180 collisions where cars struck pedestrians or cyclists, resulting in 22 deaths and 37 hit-and-run incidents. Council is expected to adopt the final Complete Streets Design Manual this summer.

The committee received updates on parking enforcement policies during winter weather emergencies and the Consent Decree and Remedial Measures Program. The Consent Decree is a legal agreement between the city, state and federal government to fix problems with Lexington's stormwater and sanitary sewer systems. The proposed schedule of the amended consent decree anticipates having 90 percent of the listed recurring sanitary sewer overflows abated by December 2026.