LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Although summer just started, business owners and Highland’s residents are concerned about what the rest of the season will look like along Bardstown Road. It’s known as a hot spot in the city. Two weekends in a row, Louisville Metro police has broken up large crowds and fights in the area. Those pop-up parties have business owners on edge and looking for solutions.

“Bardstown is different than the rest of the neighborhood and needs to be patrolled differently,” said District 8 Councilman Ben Reno-Weber.

LMPD’s body camera footage shows large crowds of people on Bardstown Road and officers breaking up fights on the weekends of June 7 and June 14. Police made at least three arrests.

People parked their cars on the sidewalks and blasted super loud music at 2 in the morning,” Reno-Weber explained. “From the first call to 911 until the streets were clear was 43 minutes.”

Reno-Weber, along with business owners and residents, hopes to prevent this from becoming a larger trend. According to LMPD, part of the problem is that many of the offenders are underage. LMPD says they will try to release minors to their parents, but they cannot always get hold of them.

Some business owners are upset that this has been going on for years. They brought their concerns and frustrations to the Highlands Commerce Guild meeting on June 25. Reno-Weber assured them the police presence in the area will look different throughout the summer.

“We are going to see an increased police presence and cameras,” Reno-Weber said. “Police cars will be parked along Bardstown Road, which will give us an increased camera presence.”

Parking changes were also discussed during this meeting. Parking officials say they are working with Uber and Lyft ride-share zones off Bardstown Road to cut down on some of the traffic. Officials are also looking at changing some meters to pay stations.

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