Bardstown Road is a major road in Louisville, Kentucky. It carries U.S. Route 31E and U.S. Route 150, from the intersection of Baxter Avenue and Broadway, southeast through Jefferson and Bullitt counties; in Spencer and Nelson counties, the road is named Louisville Road; that road becomes 3rd Street in Bardstown, where US 31E and US 150 split at the intersection with U.S. Route 62. The segment in The Highlands from Douglass Boulevard to Bardstown Road's northern terminus at Baxter Avenue, along with several blocks of Baxter Avenue north of the terminus, is notable for being the only road in the United States that has both lane lights and on-street parking. Currently, that segment has four lanes in all, with the outer two lanes used for on-street parking during non-peak traffic hours. Parking is banned during morning and evening commuting hours, during which all four lanes become traffic lanes with movements controlled by lane lights. Two lanes are dedicated to traffic in the normal commuting direction ; the lane to the left of commuting traffic becomes a dedicated left-turn lane; and the final lane accommodates traffic traveling opposite the commuting direction. In 2017, the merged government of Louisville and Jefferson County commissioned a study to suggest possible changes to traffic patterns through The Highlands, with the study being released in mid-2018. The study recommended that the permanent traffic pattern should be one lane in each direction at all times, with permanent on-street parking throughout except at the approaches to signalized intersections, which would now include permanent left-turn lanes. Recommendations were also made for two more southerly sections of the road between Douglass Boulevard and the Watterson Expressway, which currently have two traffic lanes in each direction. Between Douglass Boulevard and Taylorsville Road, on-street parking would be eliminated and a center two-way left-turn lane would be added. Such a turn lane would also be added between Tyler Lane and Brighton Drive, an area without on-street parking. The final plan is set to be announced in August 2018, though because of the road's designation as a U.S. highway, state approval is required before any work can start.
