Mill Creek Greenway
The Mill Creek Greenway project will transform approximately eight miles of waterway and publicly-owned land located between Sylvania Park in the Pleasure Ridge Park neighborhood and the Mill Creek power plant south of Valley Station. Through a grant from The Nature Conservancy, landscape architects and planners from Human Nature will work with residents and other stakeholders to create a plan to bring new life to this urban waterway. The result will be a roadmap for a new public greenway with connectivity to other greenspaces.
Given its scope, this project has the potential to be one of the nation’s largest and most comprehensive urban stream mitigation efforts. The city owns about 1,000 acres of land along Mill Creek purchased by the Jefferson County Fiscal Court for flood mitigation and preservation purposes about 30 years ago— collectively known as Community Improvement District (CID) parcels. However, much of the land has eroded and the creek has been “channelized” with concrete berms, causing the deterioration of wildlife habitat and a stagnant stream unsuitable for fishing and canoeing.
The long-term goal of this project, led by Louisville Parks and Recreation and its Natural Areas Division, is to turn the long-neglected creek into a winding recreational corridor along the water. The conceptual master planning process should be completed by Spring 2023, dovetailing with two long-term initiatives:
- Louisville MSD watershed plan for Mill Creek
- The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) stream restoration of Mill Creek
The Mill Creek Greenway project is in the beginning phase of planning and design. We are seeking community input for a conceptual plan that will serve as the blueprint for future design and decisions on how resources will be allocated. If you live in Southwest Louisville and would like to get involved, please fill out the interest form found above the resources section on the right (below if you are on mobile).
