Devou Good holds community discussion on objections to Brent Spence expansion project

By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter

Their concerns are real – the results, maybe not so much.

The Devou Good Foundation, a private operating foundation established with the intention of cultivating vibrant communities out of transitional neighborhoods, reached out to the Covington community Wednesday night at Trinity Episcopal Church (326 Madison Avenue).

“The Brent Spence Bridge expansion project significantly impacts the neighborhoods in Covington as well as Cincinnati,” Matt Butler, President of the Foundation told the Northern Kentucky Tribune.

Some 50 residents and business people listened to an hour-long presentation – followed by group interaction — on the expansion and a Title VI complaint.

“We filed a letter some 16 months ago, with our rising concerns, to the Federal Highway Administration,” Butler said. “Our major concerns are traffic, added noise pollution, deconstruction of some 29-plus homes and elimination of recreation space.”

In short, he – aided by Mackenzie Mason, a Devou Good Community Organizer/Coalition for Transit & Sustainable Development – is concerned with displacement of minorities in the area.

“Expansion,” Mason said, “will affect Black and Hispanic residents. That is a huge aspect of discrimination.”

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, color, or national origin. This legal tool is essential in ensuring that federally funded programs and activities are inclusive and equitable.

“The Brent Spence Bridge is a $1.3 billion funded project,” Mason noted in her slide presentation to the group.

In short, what Devou Good wants: Community members to see the bridge project halted, or at least re-designed – to make it more accessible for them, Mason noted

And how reasonable is all this?

“Title VI has been filed by the coalition,” Butler reminded. “It was accepted this past May, and an investigation with a solution is forthcoming sometime in August.”

But both Butler and Mason reminded that more people must be involved in this project.

“We need more people involved,” Mason said, “Because they will be interviewed by government officials.”

Community information forms were made available at the meeting.

As for Mason, she said she joined the Devou Good group in May, soon after her graduation from the University of Cincinnati.

“I was an Environmental Studies Major,” she said, “with a strong passion for environmental issues.”

As for Butler, this community project for him and Devou is nothing new.

“We were involved in the Newport Bike Room and a safety project in College Hill,” said Butler, whose wife started the foundation some 10 years ago.

The Devou Good Foundation, he said, is a volunteer-driven non-profit with a six-member staff.

“We found that communities are interested in really two things — help with transportation and child care,” he said. “We’ve become somewhat of a transportation trouble shooter.”

In fact, Butler claims his foundation has been working with legal teams in both Houston and Wisconsin on highway expansion – like the Brent Spence project.

“We see that Brent Spence project expanding to 20 lanes wide,” he said. “We know the highway through our community will be expanded,” said Butler, a Covington resident.

He added that will also include noise and air pollution and some 90-plus acres of destroyed forests.

“Title VI complaints often address systemic discrimination that affects entire communities,” he said. “Those complaints can lead to significant changes in policies and practices, promoting a more inclusive environment (HUD).

And by filing a Title VI complaint, affected individuals and communities can bring attention to discriminatory practices and seek remediation. Filing a Title VI complaint provides a formal mechanism for individuals and communities to challenge discriminatory practices and seek justice.

What Matt Butler and Devou Good want is the community to help raise awareness.

“It’s not so much about bridge expansion,” Butler said, “but highway expansion.”

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