Hello!
Thank you for coming to the Matthews’ Bridge website. The idea to start Matthews’ Bridge Incorporated, a 501 c3, formed after my firstborn son, Matthew, was hit and killed by a driver who waited until the next block to stop. My son fell off of his hood after being in his windshield going down that block, and the next car did not see my son on the road and ran over him. His body was so damaged that the coroner would not let me view my son. This was a life-ending experience for him and a life-changing experience for me. Nothing in this world will ever be the same without my son. He was hit in the 5200 block of New Cut Road in front of Iroquois Park. I was not familiar with the area. My son wasn't either. He had lost his phone and couldn't call me to come to pick him up. He was going to a bus stop that was mid-block across this road with a 35-mile-per-hour speed limit with very wide lanes going in each direction. The yellow lighting made it difficult for him to see.
The week Matthew was killed, close friends and family went with me to say some prayers and honor my son at the site where he had died. Some people who frequented the neighborhood came up to us as we put the cross in the ground and said our prayers. They complained that there had been two other people who were killed recently, and many others had been hit and killed there in the past. They complained that the lighting was terrible. It hindered being able to see at dusk and night. They complained that people drove twice the speed limit regularly. They complained about how far the crosswalk was from the bus stop.
I was overwrought at the time, but I was also deeply angered that these things had been ignored. I wondered if someone had advocated for these concerns: bus stops to be put closer to crosswalks, crosswalks to be more visible, lights to illuminate - instead of creating glare, people to drive the speed limit or within 10 miles an hour of the speed limit, and more narrow lanes. Would my son still be alive if these concerns had been addressed?
I came to find out that a study had been done out of concern for the New Cut Taylor Boulevard corridor more than a decade before Matthew and the two other people who died in separate incidences along that same stretch of road were killed. In the study, they had suggested bike lanes on either side, road modifications, and different things that would have made it so much safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. Unfortunately, there were a lot of excuses from the state legislature, the city council, and other powers. There were apparently no resources. There was not enough funding. They couldn't decide if that part of the road was a place that Louisville Parks was responsible for in regard to the lighting, the city was responsible for in regard to monitoring the speed of drivers, or the state was responsible for because it was actually a state corridor running through the city. In all of that process, no one made any of the changes, no one made the Taylor Boulevard New Cut Road corridor safe for pedestrians, and I still have not gotten an accurate number on how many people have been severely injured or killed because of that negligence. I decided what was more important was to ensure the needed changes got made. I vowed to be the voice for every victim of that corridor.
I decided to advocate for those who had died, for their surviving loved ones, and for anyone else that uses that roadway whether they're traveling by automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, or a pedestrian. I initially wanted a pedestrian's bridge put up in Matthew's honor as well as in honor of the others who had died on that stretch of road. It would look like a bridge that goes over a four-lane highway that you would see in any city, and I got estimates. Unfortunately, I got the answer that there was no funding and that it would not be feasible. I was pretty upset about that as you can imagine, but I was not ready to give up. I had a fantastic council member and a group of people called the Taylor New Cut Task Force, who then changed their name to the Taylor Boulevard New Cut Road Network.
I contacted City officials and state officials and other interested parties who shared my same mission to make this particular corridor safe. I decided that Matthew's Bridge was for outreach and advocacy more so than a physical bridge going over this four-lane highway where so many people have been hurt and killed. I created a board of Judith Hume, Amy Bordogna, David Hume, and me. Matthew's Bridge was incorporated and granted 501c3 status. We went to work along with our affiliates and partners in this mission.
We have accomplished a great deal. The lights will be changed to LED lights, the mid-block bus stop will be moved closer to the crosswalk, the crosswalks will be made more visible, there will be a yellow flashing light, timing on some of the crosswalks will be increased, and the roadways will be modified to make a safer system design. Some of these things are already happening. For others, there is a commitment to a plan that will take up to 5 years, but this is all going to happen.
People have thanked me for my advocacy and told me that these things wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for my voice and my persistence. There have been so many people involved in making these changes possible. However, these things would not be happening if it wasn't for my Matthew and that fateful evening that took his life and changed mine forever. This is how Matthew's Bridge was born and this is our mission until there are zero deaths on Louisville roadways.
We will engage in other advocacy and outreach for people who are lifelong pedestrians and create educational material for drivers to hopefully change the culture of reckless driving from being funny or amusing to having people understand that driving fast, driving under the influence, driving distracted, driving illegally is creating a situation where you can kill people. We can make all of the changes to roadways, and we can put all of the safety factors in place, but if we have irresponsible drivers who are driving illegally and speeding and not paying attention to where they're going, all of these improvements will not be enough.
Matthew's Bridge is committed to reducing dangers for travelers and increasing safety in our city. This includes all travelers being responsible and being safe using a safe systems approach. Our mission is for everyone who uses our roadways, sidewalks, or parks to be safe as they travel about their day. I hope that you can support us on this mission and help make Louisville safe.
Best Regards,
Janet Heston
President Matthew's Bridge Inc. 501c3