Designed by the same renowned landscape architect who planned New York City’s Central Park and the U.S. Capitol grounds, Louisville’s six Olmsted Parkways have been a part of the city’s story for over a century. Frederick Law Olmsted originally designed the parkways – Northwestern, Southwestern, Algonquin, Southern, Eastern and Cherokee – as tree-lined corridors linking the city’s flagship parks. The roadways were intended to accommodate carriage, equestrian and pedestrian traffic, and the advent of the automobile led to safety concerns.
The Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy called on Gresham Smith to develop design standards for each of the six parkways and a master plan for the city’s parkway system. Gresham Smith’s designs, which are in various stages of development and implementation, focus on improving access for all modes of transportation, increasing safety and creating public space, all while honoring Olmsted’s original vision for the parkway system.
parkways
mile system
miles of planned shared-use paths