Since 2003, the Forest Park Sunrisers, whose neighborhood extends on both sides of Old Morgantown Road, have talked about what they’d like to see in their corner of Bowling Green.

On Tuesday, city Neighborhood Action Coordinator Karen Foley took those ideas to the city commission’s working session in the hope of turning them into reality.

In her presentation, dubbed &#8220Envision Forest Park,” Foley set forth residents’ likes and dislikes. On the positive side, the 1,000-home neighborhood has Dishman-McGinnis Elementary School, is a corridor from downtown to the new development on Morgantown Road, is close to Western Kentucky University, and has the participation of local businesses, churches, and residents in its improvement efforts.

The cons include a lack of curbed sidewalks on either side of Morgantown Road, no landscaping along the road, poor drainage, and improper access management – meaning businesses’ parking lots have no specific entry points, but are rather a sea of asphalt that joins directly with the road.

New Old Morgantown Road developments The Registry and University Textbook are a step in the right direction, Foley said – The Registry has curbed sidewalks in front, and University Textbook created an access point with a landscaped barrier between the parking lot and the road.

Before extending the sidewalk network, Foley said a preliminary design study is needed to factor in how to handle the extensive utilities already along the road – light poles, wires, and a large gas line that runs underneath – and to weigh together input from neighbors and planning and design requirements. The study would cost $80,000 to $90,000, she said.

Once the study is complete, funding may already exist to build the sidewalks, said Helen Siewers, Greenways Coordinator for Bowling Green and Warren County. She has applied for a grant from the Federal Highway Administration, called Safe Routes to School, that could pull in nearly $200,000 – part of which would be used to build a sidewalk along the road for Dishman-McGinnis students. If funds are awarded, the city would have 18 months to complete the sidewalks, which is why Siewers advocated doing the planning study first to avoid running into problems if the grant is accepted.

In answering a question from Commissioner Brian Strow, Siewers said a planning study would take six to eight months to complete, leaving roughly 10 months to build the sidewalks.

One possible problem may be the eventual expansion of Old Morgantown Road, which is seventh in line on the long-range transportation plan, said Assistant City Engineer Melissa Cansler. Everyone needs to work together to make sure they’re not undoing each others’ progress, she said.

Mayor Elaine Walker echoed Cansler’s concerns, saying she understands the need for access points but would hate to see the road landscaped only to have the city tear it out to widen the road or put in sidewalks.

Siewers suggested re-striping parking lots and adding parking logs to establish where vehicles belong and where pedestrians belong, which would be an inexpensive and preliminary way to correct the problem until a more concrete solution is reached.

Commissioner Delane Simpson said he was &#8220pleased and proud” to see the Forest Park Sunrisers planning for the improvement of their community.

Mike Hepp, a local insurance agent who’s become an informal liaison between some Old Morgantown Road businesses and the city, said he’s excited to see an effort to change the road’s &#8220other side of the tracks” mentality.

&#8220The Old Morgantown Road issue is one that is good for Bowling Green,” he said. &#8220You have on one end the Registry, and on the other end the fire station and the new Transportation Cabinet – in between, there hasn’t been much done. We think, quite frankly, it could be a beautiful road.”

Additionally, the commissioners briefly discussed the impending expansion of Nashville Road. The state is widening the road to three lanes from University Boulevard to Emmett Avenue, and to five lanes from Emmett Avenue to the Natcher Parkway, Strow said, and plans to put in sidewalks along the five-lane road but not the three-lane road. Strow’s proposal, he said, was that the city look at ways to help out with funding so sidewalks could be built between University Boulevard and Emmett Avenue, where there’s a lot of foot traffic.

City Manager Kevin DeFebbo said he’d been in talks with Public Works Director Emmett Wood about the city’s options, and Commissioner Mark Alcott suggested inviting state legislators to Bowling Green to travel the road themselves.

No formal action is taken at the commissioners’ working sessions.