Lexington Plans For Black Friday Traffic

The city’s two areas of concern are by Fayette Mall and around Hamburg. 

Before you spend your green, you may be waiting for a traffic light to turn green.  Police ask shoppers to drive patiently.

"I figure traffic will be terrible," said one woman shopping Wednesday instead of Friday.

On Nicholasville Road near the mall, Lexington’s Traffic Signal Manager expects a 30% traffic increase.

"We’re pushing more traffic than I-75 does and we’re putting them through traffic signals.  So, you’re looking at 70,000-75,000 vehicles a day especially during the shopping season days are traveling that corridor.  So you can see that’s a pretty heavy amount of volume," said Steve Cummins, Lexington Traffic Signal Manager.

Throughout Black Friday, the city will have people monitoring and adjusting traffic lights.

"We don’t want traffic to be the main focus on Friday," said Cummins.

Here’s a travel tip from Cummins if you’re driving outbound on Nicholasville Road and heading to the Best Buy, or another business in the South Park shopping center: Instead of waiting to turn left at Canary, the city will keep the green arrow longer a block down at Reynolds.

When you arrive, police recommend you already have your valuables in the trunk.

"Experienced criminals can stay in parking lots, watching people put things in their trunk and if you put them in your trunk after you’ve already gotten there than can be an incentive to break in your car," said Lt. Eric Lowe, Lexington Police.

Lowe recommends drivers leave early, and tells them not to run red lights.