Highland Way is a street in Bowling Green (and) a neighborhood.

The city of Bowling Green is making a decision to force as much traffic as possible from Nashville Road down Highland Way. The plan is to connect Emmett Avenue to Highland Way with a stoplight and a section of curved road. This plan also makes Highland Way open to a parking lot for a big box store.

(At a recent meeting) an assistant city engineer admitted that there was a three or four year wait for the sidewalks and that there was no plan for street repairs or improvements for Highland Way. No stop signs or traffic controls of any kind were mentioned, except by residents.

We have requested sidewalks for years. The only part of Highland Way that has a sidewalk is where city commissioner Sue Parrigin resides. She was not at the meeting.

Highland Way is a nice, quiet street. A car and a school bus can pass safely, if everyone slows down and is courteous. Dumping traffic on the street brings up all kinds of safety issues. Making the street a passage for delivery trucks to Menard’s is a safety concern for the people who call this street home.

The solution — make Highland Way a right turn only onto Nashville Road, with no connection to Emmett Avenue, and leave Highland Way a dead-end street. This solution will save the city $100,000, which can be invested in street repairs and sidewalks for Highland Way.

The better solution will always be to protect these safe, inviting neighborhoods. Make Bowling Green known for having a great quality of life environment.

Anna Sue Heller

Bowling Green