LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Throughout Derby week, tens of thousands of people from around the state and the country will arrive at Churchill Downs.

That affects the neighborhoods surrounding the track.

“We live six houses from Gate 13, which will take you right into the Clubhouse gate,” said Kim Wirth, a Lucky Horseshoe neighborhood resident. Wirth has called her Queen Avenue her home for 27 years.

“Never been to a Derby in all my life. No. No Derby. No Oaks. No Thurby. Nothing,” Wirth said. She’s been to the track, just not during Derby week.

“Partially with living in the house is you become a prisoner in your own home. During Derby Week, you become a prisoner in your own home,” Wirth said.

The 54-year-old says this week her rule is never to move her car.

“If you leave, it’s hard to get back in after certain times. If you stay, you pretty much stay. You come in. You make sure you have all your groceries, everything that you need for that week, and you just stay in the neighborhood,” Wirth said.

She and her husband say the traffic is crazy.

“It has gotten worse as Churchill (Downs) has acquired more property. Being able to get in and out has gotten worse than it was when we first moved in,” Wirth said.

Over the decades, it’s gotten no better.

“When we moved in, there were six houses over there. And then gradually, as the people passed away, they sold their properties to Churchill Downs and then Churchill acquired the rest of it,” Wirth said.

Even with all she’s surrounded with, she acknowledges Churchill Downs could be a better neighbor. But she wants to see more from her city leaders.

“For our neighborhood, it’s not really Churchill Downs that I am as upset with, I guess, as it is the city that doesn’t seem to want to take any initiative,” Wirth said.

Her house is in the not-so-perfect triangle. On one side there’s Churchill Downs, on the other side the University of Louisville’s campus and then there’s Dixie Highway and its traffic.

“Our streets need to be taken care of. You’ve got to spend money around Churchill Downs. I will say, I think Churchill needs to take care of Central Avenue because they use it, and I think they need to pave it and that they need to take care of it. I think that is one street in this, in this area that they definitely need to take care of,” Wirth said.

Both Churchill Downs and UofL are part of District 15 Councilwoman Jennifer Chappell’s area.

“And there’s a lot of houses that used to be there but are not there anymore. So if you look at an old map and the property lines are all still there, but Churchill Downs probably bought about 100 houses. And so the neighborhood used to be a lot bigger than it is, but of course, Churchill Downs turned those into parking lots,” Chappell said.

In the year she’s been a councilwoman, she’s made it her mission to address this neighborhood’s concerns from street closures during Derby Week to small things, such as trash pickup.

“It is possible to do. But we want to make sure that people are being heard, and that we’re making sure that their neighborhood is open because it is a little startling to have, you know, all of these gates go up around your neighborhood, and then you feel like you can’t leave and nobody else can come in, and it kind of halts life,” Chappell said.

Chappell said her office is working to strengthen the relationship with Churchill Downs.

To give back, the racetrack offers a home repair fund to the neighborhood, tickets to 502’sDay and more in Churchill’s outreach efforts.

“So it’s not like they’re horrible neighbors. It’s just an inconvenience one time a year,” Wirth said.