New Highway 30 yard sale route brings traffic concerns to Owsley County

The first Highway 30 Yard Sale Trail turned old KY 30 in Owsley County into a roadside market Saturday, with bargain hunters and extra vehicles moving along KY 3536 and KY 3630 as the route linked KY 15 in Jackson with the Hal Rogers Parkway in London. For Owsley County, the sale was more than a shopping stop. It was a countywide traffic and safety issue along roads people use every day.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s District 10 office in Jackson oversees Owsley County and nine other east-central and southeastern Kentucky counties, and chief engineer Corbett Caudill warned that the new route could create problems for drivers who did not know the corridor. Parked cars, turning vehicles, pedestrians and distraction can all make rural roads more dangerous, especially where narrow shoulders, curves and hills leave little room for error.

That concern lands squarely on the old KY 30 alignment through Owsley County, including KY 3536 and KY 3630. Those are the kinds of roads where a car pulled too far onto the shoulder can force other traffic into the lane, slowing everyone behind it and making it harder for emergency vehicles to get through. Motorists were urged to slow down, watch for pedestrians and children, and avoid parking too close to the travel lane.

For sellers, the cabinet’s warning was just as direct. State law prohibits sales on the right of way without a permit, and anyone who wants access to the state highway right of way must obtain one from the Transportation Cabinet. The cabinet’s permits guidance covers fairs, parades, festivals, banners and welcome signs, a reminder that tables, tents and signs cannot simply spill onto state property along the corridor.

In similar yard-sale guidance, KYTC has also told drivers to park outside a 30-foot recovery zone from the pavement edge and to keep an eye out for children, pets and people directing traffic near busy spots. That advice fits Owsley County’s roadside stops, where a few crowded pull-offs can quickly become bottlenecks for Saturday travel, church traffic and local errands.

The sale was billed as the first annual Highway 30 Yard Sale Trail, a sign that the corridor could become a recurring event if traffic stays manageable and sellers keep their setups off the shoulder. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officials have said corridor-long yard sales are gaining popularity across the state, and Owsley County now has a front-row seat to what that trend means on a rural highway.