TJustice

The section of Brownsboro Road, from Mellwood Avenue to Hillcrest Avenue is known as Lower Brownsboro Road. Closer to Mellwood Ave. is a Thornton’s gas station, which is open 24 hours, and a Kroger which does close. Food choices include Sonic, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts, and a fabulous Chinese restaurant located in the strip with Kroger. Closer to Hillcrest Avenue (Zorn Avenue becomes Hillcrest), is a National City Bank, Captain’s Cellar liquor store, and an all night mom and pop diner. The bank does not have Saturday hours, but does have a drive-up ATM machine. Captain’s Cellar has late-night and Sunday hours.

After two years of apartment living in Louisville, I decided to rent a house. I located one on S. Hite Street. Living on this road was terrible!

This road had a 25 mph speed limit but cars travelling from Grinstead Ave. to Frankfort Ave., or vice-versa, frequently used this road as a short-cut and did so at break-neck speed. S. Hite does not have a traffic light at either end of the road. Baylee and Frankfort, one block away, has a traffic light and it is a horribly long wait. The road is narrow with cars parked along both sides, usually filling the curbs. This not only made parking difficult but the speed of the short-cutters was scary when parking. I never felt safe entering or exiting my vehicle when I was parked on the road.

Margaret’s Consignment Store is on the corner of Hite and Frankfort. That store always makes for good shopping. But it did not make up for the traffic problem.

Mellwood Avenue is in the Crescent Hill district of Louisville, Kentucky. Much of the road is a one-way east bound street, but becomes a narrow two lane street from Brownsboro Road to Zorn Avenue. Mellwood Avenue is home to the offices of WHAS-11 TV. The helipad for the news helicopter is located in the front of its building and often times can be seen parked there.

Several apartment complexes are located on Mellwood, one of which I lived in for about two years upon first moving to the city. The area is quiet on the two lane street, with a “country-like” setting, but heavily traveled. The street is beautiful to drive down in the fall, as the tree colors are usually wonderful. Alternately, the one-way area of Mellwood has more of a “city-like” atmosphere, with close buildings, and little foliage.

Lining River Road, from downtown to Zorn Avenue, is Waterfront Park. The park has walking and running trails, large spacious grounds, and plenty of playgrounds. Parking in free in all lots, except the lot between 1st and 3rd Street, where Joe’s Crab Shack and the Star of Louisville are located. Parking in that lot is $3.00.

The only drawback to River Road is Monday Night Margarita’s at Tumbleweed. Most of the parking lot for Tumbleweed is on the opposite side of River Road. There is much pedestrian traffic and much alcohol and vehicle mixtures in this area on Monday nights. The road and parking lot are not well lit and this does not help that situation much.

South State Street is located in the Crescent Hill area of town. It is a two block cobblestone street. It is fairly quiet, with little city noise and hardly any traffic noise. The noise level from the railroad tracks is relatively low as the tracks are several stories above the street. Train brakes are the most common annoyance. Parking is relatively scarce on the road. Many residents do use their alley parking spaces due to this constraint.

The street does not dead end at the railroad tracks as some maps portray, as an alley is located at the end of the road. Turning right at the end of the road onto the alley will empty you on to Pope Street, in a precarious position. This is a blind corner and is very dangerous to pull out of during the day. (At night, headlights make it an easier, but not a safer, turn.

North 7th Street in the downtown area of Louisville is home to the block known the city’s criminal justice system. Louisville Metro Police Department is located at 7th and Jefferson on the northeast side. On the southwest side of this intersection sits the Jefferson County Circuit and Family Courts, on the southeast side, the Jefferson County District Courts.

7th Street is a one-way street northbound street in downtown. If you’re ever called to jury duty, the parking garage between Market and Main on 7th Street has the best deal for jury parking. The garage usually fills up between 8:50am and 9:00am. Parking on the street is available by meter only from 7am – 6pm. Metered parking other times is free. Meters can only be filled for 2 hours at a time.

Several restaurants are located on 7th Street such as Gavi’s, Manhattan Grill, and the Sandwich Shop. This section of road was repaved in early 2008.

Bank Street is a one-way, west to east, street, running from 45th Street on the West (at Shawnee Park) to 15th Street on the East. Shawnee Park and Shawnee Golf Course are easy to access (except from the south side of the city – see my comment on the exit ramp) and Bank Street allows an easy way to exit the park and golf course. Bank Street can be accessed from I-264 on the West side of the city, very close to the I-264/I-64 split.

This exit empties at Bank Street and 38th Street and but can only be accessed from I-64, via a slight time on I-264. The entrance ramp is accessed from Bank Street and 37th Street and only I-64 can be accessed. There is no way to access I-264 from this exit. One must travel from Bank Street, making a right on 35th Street, and following it south to access I-264. To access Bank Street from I-264 West, one must take the River Road exit and travel north on city roads.

A Kroger grocery store and gas station were built roughly 3 years ago at 35th & Bank. A local VFW, the Wright Place bar, and Angelo’s are a bit further down around 33rd Street. A National City bank with Saturday hours and a drive up ATM are located at 26th Street. 22nd Street provides access to I-64. Bank Street filters into the downtown area, providing easy access to downtown facilities.

The area of town, known as Portland, was the port of Louisville in the early turn of the last century. Portland Avenue runs from 16th Street to the East to 33rd on the West. Portland Avenue at 33rd is the location of the Portland branch of the Louisville Public Library. This road intersects the I-64/22nd Street ramps. Located on this road is Portland Family Health Center, which has one of the only pharmacies for the health centers in the city. Portland Christian School and the Portland Museum are on this stretch of road. Businesses include: Ace Hardware, Annie’s Pizza, CVS, Sav-a-Lot, and Shaheen’s.

Bardstown Road, from downtown to the Watterson, begins with a great selection of bars, including Phoenix Hill; Molly Malone's; O’Shay's; and Wicks pizza. The road then turns to restaurants with food selections from almost everywhere in the world. Local businesses, such as tattoo parlors, skateboard shops, bicycle shops, boutiques, thrift stores, music stores, and hippie shops, are scattered throughout this section of road. Contributing to businesses on Bardstown Road is what helps keep Louisville weird.

Be aware of the overhanging lane light restrictions on Bardstown Road. You will notice that the road does not have a solid yellow line or distinct lanes painted on the road. Above the road, you will notice a box that directs what each lane is being used for at that time. A red X means do not drive in this lane. A flashing yellow X means that lane is to be used as a left turn lane. A green X is for driving. This may be dangerous for those who have never driven on Bardstown Road.

No on-street parking from 4pm-6pm. Parking at the meters on the street is free after 6pm. Many free parking spots can be found in alleys behind the businesses. Watch signs for no parking zones, business parking only, and residential street parking only.

Fourth Street is home to Fourth Street Live, an extensive collaboration of restaurants, bars, and shopping establishments. However, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, the one block section of Fourth Street becomes home to the biggest party in the ‘Ville. This party attracts the college crowds from the local universities, and is mainly a younger crowd (target audience is 21-27 years old after 10pm). Many visitors to the city try to visit 4th Street Live for attractions like Hard Rock Café and the lfirst Maker’s Mark bar and restaurant. Drink and food specials abound on weeknights, designed to cater to a more mature crowd wishing to wind down from a stressful day in a downtown office.

Metered parking on the street is free after 6pm, but many of the lots and parking garages do still charge after 6pm. Put your valuables out of sight and lock your car doors, even if you park in a garage.