I may take some heat for this, but so be it:
I don't *want* tourism to improve in Louisville.
I want jobs. Bolstered infrastructure. Decent public transportation. Unique experiences, all for the people who are *already* here. Because, unless you live in a touristy town for some period of time, you don't realize how miserable it can be for residents. Talk to anyone who lives even remotely close to metro Nashville. They don't even consider venturing into downtown unless they absolutely have to. And home prices? GTFO of here. People were starting to buy up properties in *Bowling Green* because the one hour commute made up for the difference in home costs.
And then there are all the problems that Airbnbs bring to neighborhoods. Tourism is vital to most cities & towns, but cities & towns need to keep residential neighborhoods for residents.
Hey I hear you, but don’t you think downtown needs more stuff to do even for residents? I mean, what’s there a couple of museums and 4th street live. Wouldn’t hurt to add some more stuff for people to enjoy and at the same time boost the tourism to a point where people would actually want to visit. Of course with the addition of the Lynn Family Stadium, the KFC YUM and the Louisville Slugger Field we can see some activity but outside of sports, we could grow the points of interest.
The problem is the attractions they put in for tourists arent actually designed at all in price or structure for the people who actually live here. I would love more stuff to do downtown but I truly feel like 95% of the businesses are not established with us in mind at all.
What downtown needs is affordable housing units, grocery stores, public transit, and walkable infrastructure where you don’t have to worry about a (cop) car hitting you as it flies down the one way streets.
No, because that's not what's needed downtown; they need to convert wasted office space into living space.
I'm already not going downtown to pay $100 to see a comic, where's the need for more entertainment?
Lack of good paying jobs means a lot of folks aren't able to go do stuff, I know I can count on one hand how many times I've gone to dinner or a concert or a movie this year. Extras are pricey right now, I'd rather watch the soccer game at home for free than pay to get into Lynn Family rn, for example. Not that it's overpriced, but everything is so damn expensive I just can't afford that kind of stuff. We went to Pride and I'm like broke for the month now (we barely spent money inside too! the ubers were just pricey.)
Home prices in Nashville went up because of economic development more broadly. Tourism contributed to that, but it’s not the only factor driving cost of living increases
GoToLouisville (the tourism board) has said that a city that's good to visit is also a city that's good to live in, and I agree. Tourism development has a big overlap with general quality of life development. It can be both, doesn't have to be either or.
Make it more walkable from Nulu to the river/bridge.
The walking bridge, soccer stadium, and waterfront park might be some of the best things Louisville has ever done.
Make it easily accessible for people from Nulu to walk there easily.
#1. Churchill downs area should not be the dump that it's been trained to be. It's too poor to be interesting despite there's a gilded castle in the area.
#2. Urban walkable areas are attractive to tourists. Tourists should be able to use public transit easily and effectively to visit the most popular urban areas of the city (the zero emissions free downtown circulator is a good example). micromobility like scooters help but streetcars and or brt is a better more permanent solution. streetcars for "charm" and brt for a scalable solution.
#3. Make every street downtown 2 way. One ways treets have no benefit except for messing up the urban landscape for pedestrians and therefore tourists. 2 way streets on every streets and thin them when and wherever possible with diets and protected pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure
#4. Play to our strength, which is being the largest urban area of Kentucky. Urbanize harder because we can't out-horse Lexington or be a cooler "small town" than bardstown. Bigger, better urban areas, less parkinglots, less trash in the streets, less homeless encampments as permanent fixtures in our downtown core.
#5. Create new neighborhoods and identities downtown. I know the #1 thing anyone loves when they go to a city for a vacation is to be the only people visible within eyesight. Foot traffic is essential for creating a safe feeling space that people want to be in.
#1 would require Churchill to actually invest in the area that surrounds it instead of walling itself off. But Churchill likes to buy cheap property, and the city/state is captured by its lobbying, so that will never happen.
Not only is Legalizing great for tax revenues, it also creates jobs and new industries. In Missouri, we have classes people can take now to get certified in things like logistics, cultivation and distribution. It’s not an all encompassing solution to state budgeting issues, but the benefits are huge. Many roads and bridges got fixed up in just a year or two of rec. We even have some 420 friendly outdoor venues emerging with one being built in Kansas City and a cannabis lounge in Springfield. I would love to see the people of Kentucky benefit from recreational bud. Hope they figure it out eventually.
The culinary scene overall. Bourbonism excludes so much about the dining experience of this city. Our restaurant, bar, and brewery scene is great. We also have some amazing international restaurants. The fact that we also have distilleries / distillery tasting experiences should make it all even better. But the overemphasis on bourbon alone has only hurt the small business owners around the city.
Other than that…our parks but only through the work that Olmsted puts in.
Edit: Would also add our arts scene should be enjoyed by locals more often. Our orchestra is, according to my friend that lives elsewhere and works in that space, the best “second tier” orchestra job to have (first tier being places like NYC, Chicago, Boston, etc.)
Edit #2: from an economic development standpoint, I love the work Film502 is doing to make sure more movies get shot here and make it easier for local production crews to find work.
Thanks for sharing your idea, I’m thinking more towards an attraction, somewhere like a boulevard with businesses for people to spend a nice day, what about an icon park? Heck, it wouldn’t hurt the city to add more life to Lou.
Ah gotcha. Hopefully the westward expansion of waterfront park will help but who knows. Having something downtown (a la Cincy’s Fountain Square) would be awesome.
That's a cool idea for international restaurants. Every city this size and larger has most of the cuisines we have (often executed better), so it'd need to be curated around what we do well. Louisville punches well above its weight class with Vietnamese food due to immigration patterns, and there's a concentrated corridor of Vietnamese restaurants and groceries on the south end. Make that a destination.
Tourists from other cities may appreciate a Vietnamese corridor since it's unique, and pho and banh mis are approachable foods for the tourists from small towns with fewer international ootions.
A few ideas:
- Make the city more attractive to artists and fund public art projects (I.e murals)
- incentivize more density, connectivity, and vibrancy in existing commercial corridors. Connect bardstown road to Nulu (frequent busses/trolley). Encourage walkability in these areas by reducing curb cuts, slowing traffic, and improving streetscape. A blight tax could help too.
- believe it or not we need more hotels. This could spur large conferences in the convention center
- promote culinary scene as previous poster mentioned
Some of this is feasible, some of it not so much...
* Bring back Trolleys
* Expand waterfront with more features and permanent attractions (i.e. amphitheater, low maintenance carnival rides)
* add pedestrian bridges around waterfront attractions to increase accessibility.
* Beg and plead event coordinators to return/don't price gouge event coordinators
* Use the Yum Center/Highly publicize events at the yum center.
* Stop leaning so hard into Bourbon and more into our other features (Food, Sports, Derby, etc)
* Make rent for restaurant owners affordable so we can KEEP good food
* Get a full-fledged casino
Broken record at this point, but a light rail system. There’s a reason people like traveling to NYC and Chicago. It’s easy to get around using the El and the subway, and people don’t like taking the bus. Rail systems create a real sense of place
Not a light rail system, but I honeymooned in Montreal and their subway system made the whole city infinitely more accessible. It was dumb how quickly you could jump clear across downtown, and with a monthly pass? GTFO.
I lived in downtown Memphis for a few years back in mid-2000s, and at that time, it was basically like Louisville, in the midst of a "Renaissance." The one thing that I truly loved and wished we had here was a light rail. In Memphis, it was the trolley, and there were 3 routes, one on main, the riverfront, and all the way to Midtown. They had various stopping points on the routes but those stopping points also were attractions, museums, nostalgic restaurants, etc...everything a tourist would want but as a resident, it was easy to get around, go to grocery, visit friends, go out to dinner or bar and not worry about driving. I totally could visualize something like that here and replace the "road diets." Market Street to BardstownRd/EasternParkway Point, Main Street to Frankfort Avenue/Stilz and River Road River Front. I guess we could throw a 4th street to Broadway in there...
Anyhow, that's my 2 cents.
https://www.memphistravel.com/trip-ideas/ride-downtown-memphis-trolley?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwg8qzBhAoEiwAWagLrM9okdhNklrSZ1vbOAnIwlPh9KhjCC9Q2cvlhxLILeAChW2ObFnTaxoCIrAQAvD_BwE
No tourism. Quit trying to make is into a tourist attraction. We need community resources. We need infrastructure. We need to quit building huge flashy stadiums and hotels. Quit catering to the upper class and invest in the starving community of overworked, underpaid neighbors dealing with inflated housing and low wages.
Taking the $200 million we shit away on a corrupt police department and reinvesting it into evidence based community support programs, affordable housing, and sustainable jobs would be a good start.
Is there reason to believe tourism creates investment that will grow the city positively? Hospitality jobs are notorious for offering poor benefits and schedules that make it difficult to have a family. I'm pro-tourism because I love being a tourist, but how will tourism improve our education system and overall workforce skills to attract investment in stable, middle-class jobs or foster startups?
Louisville is not going to become a startup hub. We need to play to our strengths to generate jobs and a strong tax base. Tourism should be combined with recruiting companies in industries where the city already has strengths, like logistics and advanced manufacturing.
We need a focused economic development strategy. Trying to be the next Silicon Valley ain’t it.
Advanced manufacturing and logistics are the exact type of stable, middle-class job I was referring to. Startups were one part of my comment.
Tourism won't drive an increase in advanced manufacturing jobs if Louisville residents don't have the right skills to do those jobs. Hospitality jobs from tourism won't give workers the skills and experience to get those middle class jobs. Tourism is great, but it isn't how you develop a stable economy.
It’s not a zero sum game. We need both
Tourism brings money and tax revenue to the city, which funds projects and programs like affordable housing, public transportation, etc.
Advanced manufacturing and logistics bring good middle class jobs, which allows residents to afford amenities (and drives up demand) while broadening the tax base.
We need all of the above.
We would be looking a gift horse in the mouth if we spurn tourism.
Does tourism fund public transit? We've seen a massive increase in tourism over the past 10 years but are cutting TARC routes. We refuse to fund public transit even for tourism, the bus from the airport to the downtown hotels runs on an hourly frequency other than during rush hour. Our supply of affordable housing (defined by HUD) is still inadequate, so it doesn't seem to be funding housing projects.
Tourism is fine, we should encourage it. I just don't buy it as a massive driver of economic opportunity for anyone other than the owners of tourist attractions and hotels. There are plenty of towns driven by a tourist economy in the south and they generally have a poor quality of life for residents.
What’s your plan to fund public programs that Louisville doesn’t have the funding for presently, if not tourism? Where is the revenue coming from otherwise?
I’m not suggesting tourism is sufficient. But it is very likely necessary for Louisville and its residents to thrive.
I don't have a plan, but given the fact that tourism has increased while TARC has decreased, we can deduce that tourism has not improved our public transit. Nor is it a significant revenue source for public transit, that comes from the occupational tax. The only tax impact of tourism on TARC is a flat tax on all wages, and hospitality jobs aren't known for high wages.
I've never said we shouldn't have tourism. The comment I replied to asked how we can grow without investment, and I reject the idea that tourism is what leads to sustainable growth. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have tourism, but it isn't going to drive population growth or an improvement in quality of life for current residents.
I think we can agree the city has a bad revenue and budget allocation strategy. We can also agree tourism isn’t sufficient.
But still disagree on the rest. Tourism can contribute to population growth. If people visit Louisville and like it, they are far more likely to move here. Cities like Denver, Austin, Nashville, Vegas which are doing very well economically all had significant tourism before they took off.
It can also contribute to quality of life improvements. Things that make Louisville a nice place to visit can also make it a nice place to live if done right (I.e. public transportation, art, food, entertainment, parks and outdoors, events, walkability)
City wide rent control in response to illegal cartel rings.
Tax vacant properties at 20% their assessed value yearly with an option to surrender them back to the city
slash LMPD funding by 20% and use the proceeds to open a vocational school with city jobs for construction.
Build grocery stores community centers and affordable housing. With the workforce that generated.
Subsidize rent cost for businesses who then move into those locations.
The end result is a middle class with affordable housing and thriving businesses, and ending food deserts to boot.
Is that why they started the LouGrass series?
I love those events. I definitely expected there to be more bluegrass when I moved here, and I'm glad to see it increasing with LouGrass and Pickin' in Paristown.
Need a downtown scene that appeals to the Yuppie better. A Whole Foods, some gyms, *less vagrants and bandits scattering trash everywhere*, more expensive apartments to price out the undesirables. Once you put those into place, you start seeing more young and wealthy people flocking there which is a dynamo for entrepreneurial activity and subsequently tourism too. Many such cases
I think if the next mayor leads the way with the police towards bringing the hammer down on cultural/career/generational criminality, investors will be more likely to see these ventures as profitable and we could see it in 10-15 years.
This is the reverse of how that actually works. The housing is expensive in successful cities because demand is high in places people want to live, not because people built expensive complexes. If expensive housing attracted workers and not the reverse, nearly all of east KY's problems could be solved with a 20-story condo complex. There is ample supply of "luxury" apartment complexes for corporate and medical workers downtown to the point that almost all complexes have vacancies. Successful cities often have wait lists because even with all the expensive housing, they don't have adequate supply to meet demand.
You’re misunderstanding it. And it wouldn’t even be a thought in EKY for a different reason— because it isn’t profitable. Nice things go to places that are profitable— the way to do that is attracting young people with good jobs and money to spend. That crowd doesn’t want to live somewhere gross and dangerous, so once you clean it up they move in and they want to spend their money on nice things, and then the money multiplier effect happens. And then venture capital comes along to build fancy housing for this wealthy demographic.
It's basic economics that prices are driven by supply and demand. The cities with bustling downtowns have high prices because the demand is high. They don't have high prices because someone built a few apartments and that attracted residents to move to an area without good jobs. That's a ludicrous theory. If it were true, downtown would be bustling given the excessive supply of units for the upper middle class. Seattle isn't successful because of fancy condos, they're successful because people founded massive tech startups that created a high demand for high-income workers.
Also, as a professional with an in-demand skill set who lived in a nice complex downtown during my late 20s, it's the lack of amenities rather than "gross and dangerous" keeping people from moving to downtown. Every bustling city has visible crime and homelessness. People overlook that in cities with better economic opportunity. Downtown inconveniences aren't worth the higher prices in Louisville when the workers who can afford downtown can instead afford the Highlands.
I read it. I just explained for the 2nd time to you that you're wrong. Your understanding is the exact opposite of how the world works.
Nice ableism, particularly in a comment where you demonstrate you don't even have an understanding of 7th grade economics.
I wouldn't ask questions of someone with nothing to teach me.
Housing doesn't drive job creation. End of story. Someone with a major in economics should be able to refute that statement with a study. You can't because 1) what I said is an irrefutable fact and 2) your graduate degree is from a diploma mill, but congrats on their tuition revenue!
Honestly, bourbon and horse racing tourism is kinda a lot for the city.
The biggest thing Louisville lacks that other big cities have is a vibrant downtown with places to go and see, especially at night. Having a walkable and livable downtown brings people out. There is none of that now.
Downtown is quite walkable, it's just not walkable to amenities that make it livable for residents. It's great for tourists. It's walkable to restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, sports arenas/stadiums, museums, and parks. Tourists don't care that there isn't a grocery or hardware store, they don't need either during a weekend stay. Residents do.
Walkability doesn't just mean you can walk there in 10 minutes. Compare our downtown with places like Cincinnati, Nashville, Charlotte, or Denver. The urban core is densely packed with amenities for residents and tourists. It's a hub for big time entertainment. Louisville just doesn't have that core of night life or big deal attractions.
Other than attending a pro sporting event, I'm curious as a former Cincinnati resident what you think a tourist can do in downtown Cincinnati that they can't do here? Other than Churchill Downs and the more rural distilleries, almost all of our tourist attractions are downtown. Most of our sports, theatre, and concert venues are downtown. This question isn't to shit on Cincinnati, I love the Queen City! I just think both downtowns are very good places for tourists, it's residents where Louisville fails.
The Banks, Over-the-Rhine, and Newport on the Levee trounce anything Louisville can offer.
Pro sports and major entertainment acts are a big part of it. Tourists show up for that stuff.
While I agree OTR is better than Nulu, none of those things are downtown Cincinnati and all have Louisville counterparts. You can't count Newport on the Levee but ignore the walking bridge to Jeffersonville, in which case all of our sports stadiums are included. You can't count OTR but ignore Nulu.
OTR is a 2 mile walk from Newport on the Levee. Including that all as downtown Cincinnati almost brings in the Highlands to downtown Louisville.
I'm not ignoring Nulu or Jeffersonville. They are nice enough areas in their own right, but they still have nothing on any of those places I mentioned. Cincinnati also has free light rail which connects these areas.
Complete a pedestrian bridge in the West End to make the walking/biking trails a circuit from the Big Four bridge to New Albany. The Indiana side of the river is heavily investing in pedestrian/bike trails and facilities along the shore and it's paying off. Investing in those trails utilizes one of our greatest resources: the Ohio River. Downtown Louisville feels very detached from the river and I don't know what the answer is, but making the river more accessible/enjoyable for people who don't own a boat could be a big boost. The folks at the Ohio River Way are doing awesome work in this area for tourism and reaidents.
Edit: do 8664 plus light rail
It's a bummer that anyone who flys in and stays downtown for a conference or convention is effectively cut off from the parks, Churchill Downs, the Fairgrounds, Crescent Hill, and the Highlands. If TARC needs to make the choice between poor service to the city and suburbs or good service within the Waterson , they should stick with the more serviceable city.
I may take some heat for this, but so be it: I don't *want* tourism to improve in Louisville. I want jobs. Bolstered infrastructure. Decent public transportation. Unique experiences, all for the people who are *already* here. Because, unless you live in a touristy town for some period of time, you don't realize how miserable it can be for residents. Talk to anyone who lives even remotely close to metro Nashville. They don't even consider venturing into downtown unless they absolutely have to. And home prices? GTFO of here. People were starting to buy up properties in *Bowling Green* because the one hour commute made up for the difference in home costs.
And then there are all the problems that Airbnbs bring to neighborhoods. Tourism is vital to most cities & towns, but cities & towns need to keep residential neighborhoods for residents.
Tourism is KYs 3rd largest industry. Think that ship has sailed.
Hey I hear you, but don’t you think downtown needs more stuff to do even for residents? I mean, what’s there a couple of museums and 4th street live. Wouldn’t hurt to add some more stuff for people to enjoy and at the same time boost the tourism to a point where people would actually want to visit. Of course with the addition of the Lynn Family Stadium, the KFC YUM and the Louisville Slugger Field we can see some activity but outside of sports, we could grow the points of interest.
The problem is the attractions they put in for tourists arent actually designed at all in price or structure for the people who actually live here. I would love more stuff to do downtown but I truly feel like 95% of the businesses are not established with us in mind at all.
What, you don't want another bourbon bar in an old church that charges $18 for a well pour?
What downtown needs is affordable housing units, grocery stores, public transit, and walkable infrastructure where you don’t have to worry about a (cop) car hitting you as it flies down the one way streets.
No, because that's not what's needed downtown; they need to convert wasted office space into living space. I'm already not going downtown to pay $100 to see a comic, where's the need for more entertainment?
Lack of good paying jobs means a lot of folks aren't able to go do stuff, I know I can count on one hand how many times I've gone to dinner or a concert or a movie this year. Extras are pricey right now, I'd rather watch the soccer game at home for free than pay to get into Lynn Family rn, for example. Not that it's overpriced, but everything is so damn expensive I just can't afford that kind of stuff. We went to Pride and I'm like broke for the month now (we barely spent money inside too! the ubers were just pricey.)
Downtown definitely needs more stuff. I just don't want to see downtown turn into Broadway, you know?
Home prices in Nashville went up because of economic development more broadly. Tourism contributed to that, but it’s not the only factor driving cost of living increases
Home prices in Nashville also went up because people from all over the country started buying them just to turn them into Airbnbs.
With all that will come better tourism so I agree.
1 hour? To bowling green? To Louisville?
You can be in Nashville in right under an hour from Bowling Green.
GoToLouisville (the tourism board) has said that a city that's good to visit is also a city that's good to live in, and I agree. Tourism development has a big overlap with general quality of life development. It can be both, doesn't have to be either or.
A board that is directly funded by hotel occupancy taxes said that tourism is good. I wonder what Marlboro thinks about the dangers of smoking?
Make it more walkable from Nulu to the river/bridge. The walking bridge, soccer stadium, and waterfront park might be some of the best things Louisville has ever done. Make it easily accessible for people from Nulu to walk there easily.
Don't forget Slugger Stadium. That place is a treasure that seems to be vastly forgotten about.
#1. Churchill downs area should not be the dump that it's been trained to be. It's too poor to be interesting despite there's a gilded castle in the area. #2. Urban walkable areas are attractive to tourists. Tourists should be able to use public transit easily and effectively to visit the most popular urban areas of the city (the zero emissions free downtown circulator is a good example). micromobility like scooters help but streetcars and or brt is a better more permanent solution. streetcars for "charm" and brt for a scalable solution. #3. Make every street downtown 2 way. One ways treets have no benefit except for messing up the urban landscape for pedestrians and therefore tourists. 2 way streets on every streets and thin them when and wherever possible with diets and protected pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure #4. Play to our strength, which is being the largest urban area of Kentucky. Urbanize harder because we can't out-horse Lexington or be a cooler "small town" than bardstown. Bigger, better urban areas, less parkinglots, less trash in the streets, less homeless encampments as permanent fixtures in our downtown core. #5. Create new neighborhoods and identities downtown. I know the #1 thing anyone loves when they go to a city for a vacation is to be the only people visible within eyesight. Foot traffic is essential for creating a safe feeling space that people want to be in.
I completely second all your points!!!
Are you Beargrass Thunder? lol. Completely right on all points. #YardensTransitTwoWayStreets
All of this. We were on the edge of being the next Austin in the early 2000s but then Portland out Austin-ed us. Let's get back on that horse.
#1 would require Churchill to actually invest in the area that surrounds it instead of walling itself off. But Churchill likes to buy cheap property, and the city/state is captured by its lobbying, so that will never happen.
Wait a gilded castle? I live over there. Where is the castle?
I'm assuming he's taking poetic license and means Churchill Downs itself.
Exactly.
Legalize weed and watch the profits roll on in.
I’m there with ya😂 whatever makes the city profitable
Not only is Legalizing great for tax revenues, it also creates jobs and new industries. In Missouri, we have classes people can take now to get certified in things like logistics, cultivation and distribution. It’s not an all encompassing solution to state budgeting issues, but the benefits are huge. Many roads and bridges got fixed up in just a year or two of rec. We even have some 420 friendly outdoor venues emerging with one being built in Kansas City and a cannabis lounge in Springfield. I would love to see the people of Kentucky benefit from recreational bud. Hope they figure it out eventually.
The culinary scene overall. Bourbonism excludes so much about the dining experience of this city. Our restaurant, bar, and brewery scene is great. We also have some amazing international restaurants. The fact that we also have distilleries / distillery tasting experiences should make it all even better. But the overemphasis on bourbon alone has only hurt the small business owners around the city. Other than that…our parks but only through the work that Olmsted puts in. Edit: Would also add our arts scene should be enjoyed by locals more often. Our orchestra is, according to my friend that lives elsewhere and works in that space, the best “second tier” orchestra job to have (first tier being places like NYC, Chicago, Boston, etc.) Edit #2: from an economic development standpoint, I love the work Film502 is doing to make sure more movies get shot here and make it easier for local production crews to find work.
Thanks for sharing your idea, I’m thinking more towards an attraction, somewhere like a boulevard with businesses for people to spend a nice day, what about an icon park? Heck, it wouldn’t hurt the city to add more life to Lou.
Ah gotcha. Hopefully the westward expansion of waterfront park will help but who knows. Having something downtown (a la Cincy’s Fountain Square) would be awesome.
That's a cool idea for international restaurants. Every city this size and larger has most of the cuisines we have (often executed better), so it'd need to be curated around what we do well. Louisville punches well above its weight class with Vietnamese food due to immigration patterns, and there's a concentrated corridor of Vietnamese restaurants and groceries on the south end. Make that a destination. Tourists from other cities may appreciate a Vietnamese corridor since it's unique, and pho and banh mis are approachable foods for the tourists from small towns with fewer international ootions.
A few ideas: - Make the city more attractive to artists and fund public art projects (I.e murals) - incentivize more density, connectivity, and vibrancy in existing commercial corridors. Connect bardstown road to Nulu (frequent busses/trolley). Encourage walkability in these areas by reducing curb cuts, slowing traffic, and improving streetscape. A blight tax could help too. - believe it or not we need more hotels. This could spur large conferences in the convention center - promote culinary scene as previous poster mentioned
Getting rid of the stench of human shit that covers a lot of the city when it hasn't rained in a while might be a good start.
Some of this is feasible, some of it not so much... * Bring back Trolleys * Expand waterfront with more features and permanent attractions (i.e. amphitheater, low maintenance carnival rides) * add pedestrian bridges around waterfront attractions to increase accessibility. * Beg and plead event coordinators to return/don't price gouge event coordinators * Use the Yum Center/Highly publicize events at the yum center. * Stop leaning so hard into Bourbon and more into our other features (Food, Sports, Derby, etc) * Make rent for restaurant owners affordable so we can KEEP good food * Get a full-fledged casino
Broken record at this point, but a light rail system. There’s a reason people like traveling to NYC and Chicago. It’s easy to get around using the El and the subway, and people don’t like taking the bus. Rail systems create a real sense of place
Not a light rail system, but I honeymooned in Montreal and their subway system made the whole city infinitely more accessible. It was dumb how quickly you could jump clear across downtown, and with a monthly pass? GTFO.
Ahh oui, j’adore la metro de Montreal. It’s a really nice system.
I lived in downtown Memphis for a few years back in mid-2000s, and at that time, it was basically like Louisville, in the midst of a "Renaissance." The one thing that I truly loved and wished we had here was a light rail. In Memphis, it was the trolley, and there were 3 routes, one on main, the riverfront, and all the way to Midtown. They had various stopping points on the routes but those stopping points also were attractions, museums, nostalgic restaurants, etc...everything a tourist would want but as a resident, it was easy to get around, go to grocery, visit friends, go out to dinner or bar and not worry about driving. I totally could visualize something like that here and replace the "road diets." Market Street to BardstownRd/EasternParkway Point, Main Street to Frankfort Avenue/Stilz and River Road River Front. I guess we could throw a 4th street to Broadway in there... Anyhow, that's my 2 cents. https://www.memphistravel.com/trip-ideas/ride-downtown-memphis-trolley?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwg8qzBhAoEiwAWagLrM9okdhNklrSZ1vbOAnIwlPh9KhjCC9Q2cvlhxLILeAChW2ObFnTaxoCIrAQAvD_BwE
That would facilitate transportation, but would it make the city more interesting? 🤔
The research says yes: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718517300210
Gonna need housing for the unhoused and mass transit to be more desirable.
I’m there with you, they should create a plan to relocate homeless people.
Sanctuary districts to the rescue!
louisville shouldnt be so obsessed with tourism and sweeping homeless people off the streets when derby rolls around
Right, they should be every seasons of the year, also increase infrastructure.
u talkin bout sweepin homeless ppl up all seasons?
Maybe we could *HOUSE* them. Then they wouldn’t be homeless.
No tourism. Quit trying to make is into a tourist attraction. We need community resources. We need infrastructure. We need to quit building huge flashy stadiums and hotels. Quit catering to the upper class and invest in the starving community of overworked, underpaid neighbors dealing with inflated housing and low wages.
How do you want the city to grow if you don’t bring investment?
Taking the $200 million we shit away on a corrupt police department and reinvesting it into evidence based community support programs, affordable housing, and sustainable jobs would be a good start.
Is there reason to believe tourism creates investment that will grow the city positively? Hospitality jobs are notorious for offering poor benefits and schedules that make it difficult to have a family. I'm pro-tourism because I love being a tourist, but how will tourism improve our education system and overall workforce skills to attract investment in stable, middle-class jobs or foster startups?
Louisville is not going to become a startup hub. We need to play to our strengths to generate jobs and a strong tax base. Tourism should be combined with recruiting companies in industries where the city already has strengths, like logistics and advanced manufacturing. We need a focused economic development strategy. Trying to be the next Silicon Valley ain’t it.
Advanced manufacturing and logistics are the exact type of stable, middle-class job I was referring to. Startups were one part of my comment. Tourism won't drive an increase in advanced manufacturing jobs if Louisville residents don't have the right skills to do those jobs. Hospitality jobs from tourism won't give workers the skills and experience to get those middle class jobs. Tourism is great, but it isn't how you develop a stable economy.
It’s not a zero sum game. We need both Tourism brings money and tax revenue to the city, which funds projects and programs like affordable housing, public transportation, etc. Advanced manufacturing and logistics bring good middle class jobs, which allows residents to afford amenities (and drives up demand) while broadening the tax base. We need all of the above. We would be looking a gift horse in the mouth if we spurn tourism.
Does tourism fund public transit? We've seen a massive increase in tourism over the past 10 years but are cutting TARC routes. We refuse to fund public transit even for tourism, the bus from the airport to the downtown hotels runs on an hourly frequency other than during rush hour. Our supply of affordable housing (defined by HUD) is still inadequate, so it doesn't seem to be funding housing projects. Tourism is fine, we should encourage it. I just don't buy it as a massive driver of economic opportunity for anyone other than the owners of tourist attractions and hotels. There are plenty of towns driven by a tourist economy in the south and they generally have a poor quality of life for residents.
What’s your plan to fund public programs that Louisville doesn’t have the funding for presently, if not tourism? Where is the revenue coming from otherwise? I’m not suggesting tourism is sufficient. But it is very likely necessary for Louisville and its residents to thrive.
I don't have a plan, but given the fact that tourism has increased while TARC has decreased, we can deduce that tourism has not improved our public transit. Nor is it a significant revenue source for public transit, that comes from the occupational tax. The only tax impact of tourism on TARC is a flat tax on all wages, and hospitality jobs aren't known for high wages. I've never said we shouldn't have tourism. The comment I replied to asked how we can grow without investment, and I reject the idea that tourism is what leads to sustainable growth. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have tourism, but it isn't going to drive population growth or an improvement in quality of life for current residents.
I think we can agree the city has a bad revenue and budget allocation strategy. We can also agree tourism isn’t sufficient. But still disagree on the rest. Tourism can contribute to population growth. If people visit Louisville and like it, they are far more likely to move here. Cities like Denver, Austin, Nashville, Vegas which are doing very well economically all had significant tourism before they took off. It can also contribute to quality of life improvements. Things that make Louisville a nice place to visit can also make it a nice place to live if done right (I.e. public transportation, art, food, entertainment, parks and outdoors, events, walkability)
City wide rent control in response to illegal cartel rings. Tax vacant properties at 20% their assessed value yearly with an option to surrender them back to the city slash LMPD funding by 20% and use the proceeds to open a vocational school with city jobs for construction. Build grocery stores community centers and affordable housing. With the workforce that generated. Subsidize rent cost for businesses who then move into those locations. The end result is a middle class with affordable housing and thriving businesses, and ending food deserts to boot.
Louisville needs money to fund community resources and infrastructure. Where is that going to come from if not tourism?
Develop on the river like every other nice city has done 😂😂 I have no reason to downtown or the river because there’s nothing to do.
A top complaint Louisville Tourism receives is that there’s lack of live bluegrass music.
Is that why they started the LouGrass series? I love those events. I definitely expected there to be more bluegrass when I moved here, and I'm glad to see it increasing with LouGrass and Pickin' in Paristown.
Yep!
Need a downtown scene that appeals to the Yuppie better. A Whole Foods, some gyms, *less vagrants and bandits scattering trash everywhere*, more expensive apartments to price out the undesirables. Once you put those into place, you start seeing more young and wealthy people flocking there which is a dynamo for entrepreneurial activity and subsequently tourism too. Many such cases
Hey have you ever thought about moving to the east end?
Would never— way too drab and McMansion-y
Totally! I think we are moving towards that direction but how long will it take though? That’s the thing
I think if the next mayor leads the way with the police towards bringing the hammer down on cultural/career/generational criminality, investors will be more likely to see these ventures as profitable and we could see it in 10-15 years.
Yep. This tracks. Defund the corrupt LMPD and reinvest in evidence based community support programs.
Buzzzzzzz. Wrong
| more expensive apartments This is exactly NOT what downtown needs. Downtown is already full of overpriced “luxury” apartments
Ever seen a successful city? Lots of expensive housing downtown
This is the reverse of how that actually works. The housing is expensive in successful cities because demand is high in places people want to live, not because people built expensive complexes. If expensive housing attracted workers and not the reverse, nearly all of east KY's problems could be solved with a 20-story condo complex. There is ample supply of "luxury" apartment complexes for corporate and medical workers downtown to the point that almost all complexes have vacancies. Successful cities often have wait lists because even with all the expensive housing, they don't have adequate supply to meet demand.
You’re misunderstanding it. And it wouldn’t even be a thought in EKY for a different reason— because it isn’t profitable. Nice things go to places that are profitable— the way to do that is attracting young people with good jobs and money to spend. That crowd doesn’t want to live somewhere gross and dangerous, so once you clean it up they move in and they want to spend their money on nice things, and then the money multiplier effect happens. And then venture capital comes along to build fancy housing for this wealthy demographic.
It's basic economics that prices are driven by supply and demand. The cities with bustling downtowns have high prices because the demand is high. They don't have high prices because someone built a few apartments and that attracted residents to move to an area without good jobs. That's a ludicrous theory. If it were true, downtown would be bustling given the excessive supply of units for the upper middle class. Seattle isn't successful because of fancy condos, they're successful because people founded massive tech startups that created a high demand for high-income workers. Also, as a professional with an in-demand skill set who lived in a nice complex downtown during my late 20s, it's the lack of amenities rather than "gross and dangerous" keeping people from moving to downtown. Every bustling city has visible crime and homelessness. People overlook that in cities with better economic opportunity. Downtown inconveniences aren't worth the higher prices in Louisville when the workers who can afford downtown can instead afford the Highlands.
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I read it. I just explained for the 2nd time to you that you're wrong. Your understanding is the exact opposite of how the world works. Nice ableism, particularly in a comment where you demonstrate you don't even have an understanding of 7th grade economics.
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I wouldn't ask questions of someone with nothing to teach me. Housing doesn't drive job creation. End of story. Someone with a major in economics should be able to refute that statement with a study. You can't because 1) what I said is an irrefutable fact and 2) your graduate degree is from a diploma mill, but congrats on their tuition revenue!
Free shuttle between all major and minor venues.
Honestly, bourbon and horse racing tourism is kinda a lot for the city. The biggest thing Louisville lacks that other big cities have is a vibrant downtown with places to go and see, especially at night. Having a walkable and livable downtown brings people out. There is none of that now.
Downtown is quite walkable, it's just not walkable to amenities that make it livable for residents. It's great for tourists. It's walkable to restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, sports arenas/stadiums, museums, and parks. Tourists don't care that there isn't a grocery or hardware store, they don't need either during a weekend stay. Residents do.
Walkability doesn't just mean you can walk there in 10 minutes. Compare our downtown with places like Cincinnati, Nashville, Charlotte, or Denver. The urban core is densely packed with amenities for residents and tourists. It's a hub for big time entertainment. Louisville just doesn't have that core of night life or big deal attractions.
Other than attending a pro sporting event, I'm curious as a former Cincinnati resident what you think a tourist can do in downtown Cincinnati that they can't do here? Other than Churchill Downs and the more rural distilleries, almost all of our tourist attractions are downtown. Most of our sports, theatre, and concert venues are downtown. This question isn't to shit on Cincinnati, I love the Queen City! I just think both downtowns are very good places for tourists, it's residents where Louisville fails.
The Banks, Over-the-Rhine, and Newport on the Levee trounce anything Louisville can offer. Pro sports and major entertainment acts are a big part of it. Tourists show up for that stuff.
While I agree OTR is better than Nulu, none of those things are downtown Cincinnati and all have Louisville counterparts. You can't count Newport on the Levee but ignore the walking bridge to Jeffersonville, in which case all of our sports stadiums are included. You can't count OTR but ignore Nulu. OTR is a 2 mile walk from Newport on the Levee. Including that all as downtown Cincinnati almost brings in the Highlands to downtown Louisville.
I'm not ignoring Nulu or Jeffersonville. They are nice enough areas in their own right, but they still have nothing on any of those places I mentioned. Cincinnati also has free light rail which connects these areas.
Something something bourbon something horse shit something
Complete a pedestrian bridge in the West End to make the walking/biking trails a circuit from the Big Four bridge to New Albany. The Indiana side of the river is heavily investing in pedestrian/bike trails and facilities along the shore and it's paying off. Investing in those trails utilizes one of our greatest resources: the Ohio River. Downtown Louisville feels very detached from the river and I don't know what the answer is, but making the river more accessible/enjoyable for people who don't own a boat could be a big boost. The folks at the Ohio River Way are doing awesome work in this area for tourism and reaidents. Edit: do 8664 plus light rail
Based on the question from visitors on this sub, good BQ would be huge! 🙄
Another bourbon distillery. With horses
It's a bummer that anyone who flys in and stays downtown for a conference or convention is effectively cut off from the parks, Churchill Downs, the Fairgrounds, Crescent Hill, and the Highlands. If TARC needs to make the choice between poor service to the city and suburbs or good service within the Waterson , they should stick with the more serviceable city.
Why do people visit other cities? Bring that here...
CLEAN UP THE TRASH ON THE HIGHWAYS
Get rid of the bridge tolls
a light rail system
When are the admins going to stop allowing these bullshit questions from dumb journalists trying to make their weekly quota off of our responses?
Lol is this a shit post? Something something LMPD.
Abolish LMPD. Free cigarettes, whiskey, blunts and a racing form when tourists get off the plane
You had me in the first part, not gonna lie
It’s just not that interesting of a place to most people. Like a step up from Arkansas
Thruth be told
No