Limiting Left Turns is Key Safety Move

The drivers who travel Dixie Highway every day deserve the safest, most efficient and least congested roadway we can reasonably achieve. The highway’s current design allows drivers to turn left almost anywhere they choose, which chokes traffic and causes wrecks. That’s why the New Dixie Highway will use medians to block most left turns, except at intersections.

Left Turns are Dangerous
Turning left on a busy road is one of the most dangerous maneuvers we make in a vehicle. One Department of Transportation study found that more than half of median example all crossing path collisions occurred during left turns. (Right turns made up only about 5 percent!)
Even when completed safely, left turns still slow down traffic and create congestion. For example, cars waiting to turn left often block a lane of traffic.
Reducing left turns will make The New Dixie Highway a better roadway for all of us.
This photo from Hurstbourne Parkway illustrates a type of non-mountable barrier that could be used to restrict left turns.

For more information on the project, go to www.thenewdi xiehighway.com

FAQs on Left Turn Restrictions

Typically, people have a series of questions about left turn restrictions. Here are a few:

Question: Does this actually work?
Yes! This approach is used successfully in many communities, including right here in Louisville on major roads like Hurstbourne Parkway. A Florida study found that adding medians to reduce left turns results in a 30 percent decrease in crashes.

Question: Won’t this hurt my business?
The Federal Highway Administration has found that after these kinds of changes, most business owners say that the results were not as they feared. “Studies of the business impacts of access management projects in Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas and Texas have consistently found that most businesses continue to do well when the project is completed.”

Question: Doesn’t blocking left turns force you to take longer routes to get to where you are going? Doesn’t that waste gas?
Waiting to make a left turn is more inefficient than you probably think. In fact, UPS drivers avoid left turns as much as possible – and have saved millions of gallons of gas by doing so. They have found reducing left turns reduces idling time, which is more inefficient than going a short extra distance. Check out this video about UPS’s experience:

Question: What about emergency responders? Won’t this hinder police and fire vehicles?
In communities with medians, including Louisville, emergency responders have worked with transportation engineers to ensure that police, fire and EMS have adequate routing options for the fastest possible response. Access management tools like medians have worked in other parts of Louisville, and the project team is consulting with Louisville’s emergency services on the final design.

Dixie Highway Area in the News:

Generous stranger cheers up man visiting Valley Station around holidays.
Valley Station market shares holidays with seniors.
Artists starting foundry along Dixie/18^th Street Corridor.