Jump to content

Plan Baton Rouge


richyb83

Recommended Posts


 As well as the harm done to the neighborhoods they go through.

 

I think blaming freeways for problems faced by inner city neighborhoods is turning a blind eye to the true issues. Other than giving drug dealers a faster way to get product to client and a bit of noise pollution (a problem faced by many, many neighborhoods of varying economic vitality), I don't buy it. 

 

One need only compare Haley Boulevard and N. Claiborne in New Orleans to see that the expressways aren't the biggest culprit in the destruction of inner-city communities. Both were once bustling centers of black commerce and business ownership. On both streets, very little of that former vitality remains. However, only one of those streets has an expressway built over it--yet the economic and crime situation is virtually the same...it is perhaps even worse on Haley. 

 

Granted, that is New Orleans and we're talking Baton Rouge. I find the effort to demolish the Claiborne expressway misguided, but less so than any effort to demolish the 110 through downtown BR. Aesthetics aside, that section of 110 just hasn't proven itself to be enough of a nuisance to justify is removal the way the Claiborne has for some in NOLA. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think blaming freeways for problems faced by inner city neighborhoods is turning a blind eye to the true issues. Other than giving drug dealers a faster way to get product to client and a bit of noise pollution (a problem faced by many, many neighborhoods of varying economic vitality), I don't buy it. 

 

One need only compare Haley Boulevard and N. Claiborne in New Orleans to see that the expressways aren't the biggest culprit in the destruction of inner-city communities. Both were once bustling centers of black commerce and business ownership. On both streets, very little of that former vitality remains. However, only one of those streets has an expressway built over it--yet the economic and crime situation is virtually the same...it is perhaps even worse on Haley. 

 

Granted, that is New Orleans and we're talking Baton Rouge. I find the effort to demolish the Claiborne expressway misguided, but less so than any effort to demolish the 110 through downtown BR. Aesthetics aside, that section of 110 just hasn't proven itself to be enough of a nuisance to justify is removal the way the Claiborne has for some in NOLA. 

I am not blaming the freeway for the problems, but they are most certainly a symptom.

 

Actually, there is a stark difference in OC Haley and Claiborne, in my opinion. I've only been on OC Haley once or twice but you can still see what's left, nothing has changed other than the commerce. Heck, you can still see the streetcar tracks in the road! All it needs is people to move in, not much new construction or infrastructure. Claiborne will require a huge investment and concentration of attention for it to ever regain it's place. I do agree that OC Haley is in a terrible condition, economically and physically.

 

I-110 may not have proven itself as the barrier it is compared to the Claiborne bridge but I tend to think for the future. I think in 10 years time it will present itself as an obstacle once the I-10 & I-110 interchange and that whole fiasco is addressed. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not trying to be Captain Obvious...but...People are not going to move into poor, rundown, and violent inner-city neighborhoods when there is a suburban alternative. 

"West Mid-City" as I call it, is not violent or run down. It's the part of Mid-City west of 22nd St. It's mostly businesses and older blacks. It's not Mayberry but it's far from Zion City. People move to borderline neighborhoods all the time, parts of Uptown New Orleans, Mid-City, 9th Ward, Treme, Gentilly, etc.

 

Not everyone likes the suburbs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"West Mid-City" as I call it, is not violent or run down. It's the part of Mid-City west of 22nd St. It's mostly businesses and older blacks. It's not Mayberry but it's far from Zion City. People move to borderline neighborhoods all the time, parts of Uptown New Orleans, Mid-City, 9th Ward, Treme, Gentilly, etc.

 

Not everyone likes the suburbs.

 

This.

 

I've been quite baffled by people who think of that area of BR as some hardcore ghetto. It was especially quiet before increased crime fighting efforts hit 70805 and pushed some of the crime mess into 70802 and 70806. I do find it run-down, however...but nothing compared to some areas of town. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Along with the construction at the IBM Block...It's pretty cool to cruise down Third Street & see all the new activity taking place! The Onyxx residences at Convention Street has finally started moving dirt. Can't wait for the new 8-story/147-room Courtyard by Marriott to get started at the next block across the street at Florida St; & a little further down.....

 

Construction at the mixed-use Commerce Building has begun on the one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury loft apartments that, when completed in early 2016, will add 93 new units to the growing downtown market. The building will also feature ground-floor retail and a 5,000-square-foot rooftop restaurant. Behind it...The next building 440 on Third with Matherne's supermarket & US Agencies with 9th floor addition

Jan15%20012_zpski8zbrff.jpg

 

Across the street from the Commerce building...This property(parking lot) at Laurel Street has changed hands...no word yet on what could be built...but some more residential lofts possible? (IBM tower crane in background behind new Hampton Inn

Jan15%20013_zpswijthhsd.jpg

Edited by richyb83
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DDD Commission Meeting
February 10, 2015, 8:00 a.m.
St. Joseph Cathedral, Parish Hall - 401 Main Street

AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Declare Quorum
3. Approve Agenda
4. Approve January 13, 2015 Minutes
5. Board Action
6. Update from Previous Board Meeting
a. Governmental Issues
b. Development Initiatives
• Downtown Police Precinct
• St. Joseph Reception Hall
• Rotary Centennial Project
• EPA Bike Share Grant
• 440 on Third / Matherne's Update
• City Hall Plaza Update
• Riverfront Gateways / River Road Improvements
• Downtown Maintenance Committee
• Downtown Greenway Update
• New Businesses
• Events
o #MovieNight BR - February 11
o Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade - February 14
o Ultimate Louisiana Mardi Gras Party - February 14
o Mardi Gras Mambo - February 21
o A Confederacy of Dunces Kick Off - February 28
o B. R. Arts Market - March 7
o Foundation for Historical Louisiana/Old Governor's Mansion
o Manship Theatre Events / LSU MOA
o Capitol Park Museum
o Old State Capitol
o River Center Events
o BRSO
o LASM
o USS Kidd
7. Strategic Plan
a. Plan Baton Rouge II
8. Ongoing Projects
• CPEX
• BREADA
• DBA
9. Correspondence
10. Public Comment

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Link between LSU and downtown about to get easier with conversion of St. Ferdinand and St. Louis to two-way streets                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              In about two weeks, getting from LSU to downtown Baton Rouge should be a little easier.  

 

St. Ferdinand and St. Louis streets, which are both one-way streets downtown on either side of the courthouse, are being converted to two-way streets, providing an uninterrupted north-south connection between the two destinations, via Nicholson Drive and Highland Road.

Previously, southbound drivers on Highland Road were diverted through Beauregard Town if they were headed downtown.

The $1.1 million project is about seven years in the making, but it received official approval in 2010.

The primary cost of the project was to add traffic lights on North Boulevard and to make additions to the existing traffic signals on Government Street.

What initially seemed like a relatively simple change has dragged out for years. Last April, Department of Public Works leaders said the project would be finished before fall 2014.

St. Ferdinand Street will open in both directions first, on March 14. St. Louis Street will follow March 21.

“Whenever you change a roadway in an urban area, you have to do a lot of analysis,” said Davis Rhorer, Downtown Development District executive director, explaining some of the delays. “If you change one street, it affects the traffic on 10 other streets.”

Reconfiguring the entrances and exits for the River Center parking garages to accommodate the new traffic flow also contributed to the delays.

The east River Center garage will have entrance points on both St. Louis and St. Ferdinand, and the west River Center garage will still have one entrance on St. Louis Street.

Rhorer said the additional access point, and allowing drivers to access the garages from both directions, will decrease the amount of traffic that builds up on Government Street when events come to the River Center.

There are about 1,500 parking spaces in the two garages.

Rhorer said he doesn’t expect traffic to increase dramatically on the streets as a result of the change, particularly on St. Louis Street because it ends at North Boulevard in the Town Square.

St. Ferdinand, however, will create a direct line from LSU to the State Capitol, which could increase traffic. St. Ferdinand turns into Highland Road to the south and Fourth Street to the north.

He also noted that the change gives residents living in Old South Baton Rouge and Beauregard Town, neighborhoods that had previously lamented access to a nearby supermarket, a quicker route to the new Matherne’s grocery store, which opened in January.      http://theadvocate.com/news/11714975-123/link-between-lsu-and-downtown                                                      

Edited by greg225
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DDD Commission Meeting
March 12, 2015, 8:00 a.m.
First United Methodist - 930 North Blvd

 

AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Declare Quorum
3. Approve Agenda
4. Approve February 10, 2015 Minutes
5. Board Action
6. Update from Previous Board Meeting
a. Governmental Issues
b. Development Initiatives
• St. Louis/St. Ferdinand Two-Way Project
• Rotary Centennial Project Update
• Old State Capitol
• Nicholson Streetcar Project
• Water Campus Groundbreaking
• City Hall Plaza Update
• LASM North Courtyard Renovations
• Riverfront Gateways / River Road Improvements
• Parking Lot Screening
• Downtown Maintenance Committee
• Downtown Greenway Update
• Marketing Initiatives
• New Businesses
• Events
o Providence Corporate Cup - March 21
o World Peace Day - March 22
o Third Street Grub Crawl - March 26
o Fest For All - March 28 & 29
o Sunday in the Park - March 29
o Live After Five - April 3
o B. R. Arts Market / Color Run - April 4
o Blues Fest - April 11
o Foundation for Historical Louisiana/Old Governor's Mansion
o Manship Theatre Events / LSU MOA
o Capitol Park Museum
o Old State Capitol
o River Center Events
o BRSO
o LASM
o USS Kidd
7. Strategic Plan
a. Plan Baton Rouge II
8. Ongoing Projects
• CPEX
• BREADA
• DBA
9. Correspondence
10. Public Comment

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stretch of River Road downtown to become more pedestrian friendly                                                                                                                 Sidewalks are coming to River Road downtown, at least to a four-block stretch of the thoroughfare between Florida Street and the IBM building that’s under development at  Lafayette and North streets.

The Metro Council on Wednesday evening approved a $126,000 grant to create a tree-lined pedestrian thoroughfare on the east side of the street, which will be across from a bike lane already planned for the west side.

The project is one of several downtown beautification efforts discussed this morning at the monthly meeting of the Downtown Development District Board of Commissioners. Also highlighted was an international art competition to design a signature piece of original art that would be placed on the downtown riverfront at Florida Street and serve as a gateway to the area.

The $350,000 competition, which was announced last month, is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge’s Centennial Committee and will be managed by the Boston-based consulting group CODAworx. DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer says CODAworx will begin accepting RFPs for the project April 1 and that they are due April 30. The selection process begins May 15, with the winning team selected by Oct. 15.

“It’s really a defining element for downtown and the city,” Rhorer says. “Florida and River Road is really where the downtown greenway begins and ends. It’s the center of downtown.”

Also at the DDD meeting this morning:

  • Commercial Properties spokesperson Tina Rance told the board that IBM is on schedule to move into its new office building on River Road in May, and that residential units in the adjoining 525 Lafayette building will be open this fall.
  • The former Latil’s Stationery building in the 300 block of Third Street will open within the next few weeks as The Watermark, a reception and banquet hall. Local restaurateur Andy Blouin and partner Sean Malone acquired the property in late 2011 for $815,000 and have been working on plans to redevelop the 12,000-square foot space since 2013.

—Stephanie Riegel    http://www.businessreport.com/article/stretch-river-road-downtown-become-pedestrian-friendly

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DDD plans downtown screens                                                            The Downtown Development District plans to install temporary screens later this year to obscure parking lots on Florida Street.

 

Davis Rhorer, executive director of the DDD, said the agency has budgeted about $30,000 for the screens, which would be included in the plans to improve the streetscape on Florida and Lafayette streets.

The screens would be made of material such as metal pipe and would be moveable, Rhorer said. “We want something artistic in nature, that can be placed in case there’s development in a parking lot,” he said. Plans are to put the screens around the parking lots at Florida and River Road and Florida and Lafayette streets. The screens could be moved to other locations downtown to tie into art events.

The DDD is looking at about 10 different designs for the screens and hopes to narrow the options down to three. The DDD plans to select the winning design in “the next couple of months” so they can be installed before the end of the year, Rhorer said.

In other business, the Downtown Development District Commission met Michael Day, recently named as general manager of the Baton Rouge River Center. http://theadvocate.com/news/11831099-123/ddd-plans-downtown-screens

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

DDD Commission Meeting
April 14, 2015, 8:00 a.m.
North Boulevard Town Square, Town Lawn - 222 North Blvd

AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Declare Quorum
3. Approve Agenda
4. Approve March 10, 2015 Minutes
5. Board Action
6. Update from Previous Board Meeting
a. Governmental Issues
b. Development Initiatives
• St. Louis/St. Ferdinand Two-Way Project
• Louisiana Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits
• Rotary Centennial Project Update
• Nicholson Streetcar Project
• City Hall Plaza Update
• LASM North Courtyard Renovations
• Riverfront Improvements
• Downtown Maintenance Committee
• Downtown Greenway Update

• New Businesses
• Events
o Live After Five - April 17, 24, May 1, 8, 15, 21
o MS Walk - April 18
o Louisiana Earth Day - April 19
o Sunday in the Park - April 19, 26, May 3, 10
o March for Babies / Songwriter Festival - April 25
o Driving the Future - April 30
o Crawfish King Cookoff - May 1
o International Heritage Festival - May 3
o Happy's 5K - May 9
o Foundation for Historical Louisiana/Old Governor's Mansion
o Manship Theatre Events / LSU MOA
o Capitol Park Museum
o Old State Capitol
o River Center Events
o BRSO
o LASM
o USS Kidd
7. Strategic Plan
a. Plan Baton Rouge II
8. Ongoing Projects
• CPEX
• BREADA
• DBA
9. Correspondence
10. Public Comment

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Baton Rouge Bar Association to present downtown with new clock this afternoon                                                                                      Downtown officially gets a new landmark this afternoon: a 17-foot clock tower that is located on the corner of North Boulevard and St. Louis Street, just outside the entrance of the new 19th Judicial District Courthouse.

The clock is a gift from the Baton Rouge Bar Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Baton Rouge Bar Association, and is intended to be a special and lasting gift to the city honoring the shared heritage of the city and the BRBA.

The clock has actually been in the works for more than a decade. The BRBA first conceived the idea 11 years ago, when it was celebrating its 75th anniversary. The group’s foundation  held an anniversary block party and auction, raising more than $25,000 for a special gift for downtown Baton Rouge. But deciding what kind of gift to make then working around years of construction on the new courthouse building and Town Square delayed the process.

“We wanted to wait until the courthouse was constructed then once it was constructed we wanted to wait on the Town Square, so it snowballed but, really, now that everything is complete the timing couldn’t have been better,” says BRBA Executive Director Ann Gregorie. “A clock is special because it’s significant to everyone and it’s lasting.”

The clock—which sits atop four aluminum posts and melds a contemporary design with a traditional face— was designed by local architect Raymond G. “Skipper” Post and manufactured by Electric Time Co. of Medfield, Massachusetts. The dedication will be held at 3:30 p.m. today in Town Square. The event will be moved to the jury room inside the courthouse if it rains.    http://www.businessreport.com/article/baton-rouge-bar-association-present-downtown-new-clock-afternoon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.