Bluegrass Times

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On June 27, Gov. Andy Beshear announced $13.7 million in funding that will bolster Louisville’s tourism industry, support police officers and make New LaGrange Road safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Building a better Kentucky means supporting our people and investing in our communities,” said Gov. Beshear. “The awards announced today will bring more people to Louisville while making communities safer and more accessible. The more wins we can secure for Kentucky on days like this, the brighter our future is for everyone.”

“The funding we celebrate today will help bring more people to Louisville and make it a safer place for our citizens,” said Mayor Craig Greenberg. “When we invest in our people, we see amazing things happen. We’re working every day to secure a brighter future for our great city.”

Tourism Marketing Funding

Gov. Beshear awarded $12,118,199 to the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau to support travel marketing and promotion and attract meetings and conventions. The award is part of the $75 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding announced by the Governor in July to boost the state’s tourism industry and economy following the decline in visitors brought on by the pandemic.

“Hats off to the Kentucky legislature and Governor’s office for enabling us to move into a growth phase for tourism by significantly increasing our advertising spend,” said Cleo Battle, president and CEO of Louisville Tourism. “Louisville Tourism’s role is to inspire travel. In 2019, Louisville hosted 19 million visitors, and marketing efforts like this campaign will further support the destination’s goal of increasing to 25 million annual visitors by 2030. And we know our hospitality industry is ready to deliver on our brand promise.”

The Governor awarded $500,000 to the Garden & Gun Project to support multicounty collaborative destination marketing. The project will focus on an activation event experience highlighting Kentucky’s bourbon country through a multi-day package across five jurisdictions.

“The tourism ARPA funding has had a significant impact on visitation in Bardstown, Kentucky. In turn, giving economic recovery to every restaurant, hotel, B&B, attraction and retailer,” said Samantha Brady, executive director of the Bardstown Nelson County Tourist Commission. “We are most proud of the opportunity to participate in the multi-jurisdictional marketing projects. This provided the Bardstown-Nelson County Tourism & Convention Commission opportunities to partner with our colleagues from all over the State of Kentucky, "A rising tide lifts all boats.”

The funds are distributed by the Kentucky Department of Tourism to eligible tourism organizations throughout the commonwealth.

New LaGrange Road Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Improvements

Gov. Beshear announced $876,000 in funding to make safety improvements to LaGrange Road. The LaGrange Road Corridor project will introduce more “complete street” features, like bike lanes and sidewalks, to improve connectivity and safety for cyclists and pedestrians. New turn lanes will improve efficiency and reduce emissions.

This project complements work recently completed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to repave, restripe and rightsized a portion of the road to feature three wider driving lanes and bike lanes. The funds come from KYTC’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program.

Supporting Police Officers

Gov. Beshear announced $228,915 in funding from the Law Enforcement Protection Program to three local police departments in Louisville:

• $193,730 to the St. Matthews Police Department;
• $26,483 to the Lyndon Police Department; and
• $8,702 to the Meadow Vale Police Department.

Original source can be found here.