LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Residents living inside the Lucky Horseshoe neighborhood in south Louisville are sharing ideas about what they want to see in their community year round, not just Derby time.
The name of the neighborhood is a giveaway, it sits in the shadow of Churchill Downs.
Metro Council member Jennifer Chappell is listening to Lucky Horseshoe residents as they plan to clean their neighborhood April 6 through a one day event, “BOB” – Building Our Blocks.
"When the eyes of the world are upon this neighborhood [and] in this community on that first weekend in May, I really hope they can see how great Louisville is from the people right here," Chappell said.
She plans to do this transformative effort with Lucky Horseshoe residents first before applying it to other neighborhoods in District 15.
They are collaborating ideas to not just make Lucky Horseshoe pretty, but livable.
Residents shared long-term ideas that included more greenspace and parks.
They are looking forward to planting trees, managing home repairs, checking smoke detectors along with community partners like Louisville Metro Animal Services, conducting an animal vaccine clinic in April.
"Instead of asking them to come to us, we can literally go to their doorstep and say, ‘what do you need?’ We want to be proactive in the things that we need to fix in the community.”
Housing displacement and more grocery stores coming to the area were among the conversation.
Erin Smith lives in Lucky Horseshoe and says the cleanup effort isn't enough.
"It needs to go deeper. It needs to go a lot deeper. This is not just a surface things because sometimes it feels like we cleanup for Derby. What about the rest of the year? What about the Louisvillians who live here?" Smith said.
Smith is hoping this only ignites the fuel to for Louisvillians to start taking better care of Lucky Horseshoe at all times throughout the year.
"Let's not lose the pulse on the actual residents who have lived here their entire lives who have lived in this district maybe their whole life we need to keep that in mind this is not just for Churchill Downs," Smith added.
Until then, Smith and others are looking forward to the big day.
Another planning session will be held Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
Organizers will canvass the neighborhood in February before the Building Our Blocks event on April 6.
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