When the national recession ends...

[all2neat]

I think we'll see another short tower downtown but it will be residential instead of commercial. I think some of the vacant tracts of land within the city will become developed.. I suspect that Livingston parish will continue to grow along with Ascension parish but West Baton Rouge due to short commute times to downtown will start to become a bigger player with more residential developments.. I'd really like to see downtown be the center of the city from both east and west instead of just east.

I'm hoping for more dense development and the downtown areas getting more features that will attract people to live there. I think we'll finally see I12 get widened to three lanes to walker and also widened in several mile segments between walker and slidell (similar to what Mississippi did with I10).

[dan326]

Well, I know what I want to see happen. I would really like see Willow Grove and the Acadian project start up and maybe even La Vie too. Of course, I'd like to see River Place, but we know how that goes.

[cajun]

Well, I know what I want to see happen. I would really like see Willow Grove and the Acadian project start up and maybe even La Vie too. Of course, I'd like to see River Place, but we know how that goes.

[buckett5425]

What will happen:

More "not smart" growth along Corporate and around Towne Center.

More single family home construction on vacant land in EBR

Continued sprawl in Ascension and Livingston...now entering WBR

Residential growth downtown

We'll finally finish up the I12 and I10 widening, which should help a little despite creating a new bottleneck at the 10/12 split

The bypass may actually get started

Slow to moderate job creation

incremental improvements in higher education

What I want to happen:

Widen I10 btw the split and the bridge...I just don't want the headache of construction. 8 lanes with shoulders would be nice, with a nice looking bridge over the park lakes.

I want the state to start shoveling money into LSU's grad programs while aggressively seeking private donations

I pretty much want the bond to pass...don't forget to vote.

I want the city/parish to resurface Sherwood Forest, College Drive, and Stanford and the state to fix Nicholson and Florida

I would like to see explosive job growth in the area - particularly in the high paying professional markets instead of retail and hospitality

I'd like to be able to fly to Washington DC and Denver non stop from Baton Rouge

It would be nice if Rouzon, Willow Grove, and Perkins Rowe were finally completed and built out and the subcontractors involved to actually get paid.

I honestly don't see the downtown market for commercial office space expanding. I think the growth in that area would likely come from either residential and hospitality.

[richyb83]

That was my question..."What We Will See"?? OR "What I Would Like to See"?? Tough question...but good one!

Like cajun said...seems like opportunity for Smart Growth adjacent to Towne Center has been wasted; would like to see some mid-rise office towers along the Corporate corridor/Towne Center business park; still "on-Hold" for now.

*The transformation of the Nicholson corridor btwn LSU & Downtown to fulfill it's potential with the River District/River House; etc/ mixed-use; live/work/play

*More expansion from Celtic Media Center

*Green Light projects continuing to help some surface streets maybe get people off(slightly) of Main Street..I mean I-12/I-10

*More sprawl...more single entranced subdivisions(gated)....more traffic

*More NIMBY's and Civic ASSociations halting growth...

WOULD LIKE TO SEE..."WISH LIST"

*Critical Mass finally reached for Downtown...Capitol Lofts & Commerce Bldg would be nice start...something new built from the ground up besides One Eleven. Complete with cinema/pharmacy/grocery, etc...

*A NEW 2nd Tallest Highrise for the CBD surpassing One American Place of 1974....

*ALIVE to act as a magnet for more growth; prompting River Park & RiverPlace to finally get off the ground

*Continuous Turn-Lanes for I-12 btwn Airline Hwy & O'neal...basically 8 lanes in each direction

*Bike/Walking Trail(4 miles?) from Olympia X'treme Sports Park along the Bayou Duplantier watershed to University Lake...with connections in the surrounding neighborhoods/subdivisions including Rouzan!

*Gulf-South HIGH SPEED RAIL connecting BR w/ Houston/NOLA/Mobile

*SOUTHGATE TOWERS to finish the remaining towers whether they be 8, 10 or 12-stories! Looks like construction is begining on the movie-stage...

*Starting & completing Perkins Rowe-PHASE TWO with the Vermillion condo's 8-stories and if one of the other three condo's get as tall as the 15-story height limit would be fine with me also!

*Acadian Village...and Urban Overlay District for the unique Perkins Road Overpass area and *The Grove

*Renaissance Hotel renovations at the dilapidated Swaggart dorm on Bluebonnet

>Still to this day BR's Tallest Residential Bldgs are the 14-story Catholic/Presbyterian Apts & LSU's Kirby Smith Hall...just not acceptable!

[cajun]

Maybe someone could riddle me this, since it's out of my area of expertise.....why does some of older asphalt material used on Baton Rouge roads turn brown and get really, really slick as it ages? Sherwood and College are good examples. Try driving on those after a rainstorm at anything but a snails pace.

Why does Highland Road, which hasn't been touched in over a decade, still retain it's frictional properties and the darker, softer appearance?

Just a weird observation. I've never worked with asphalt before.

I tried to give your post cajun, a "positive vote." However, it told me i had reached my quota for the day, which i find interesting, since ive never voted before, and just noticed the new feature today, lol.

I agree with everything you say. But I would be scared to see I10 widened from the split to the bridge, even though its needed. Like you've mentioned earlier, i would hate to see the damage it would to the perkins overpass area. I think that straightening out that sharp curve and bringing the "merging" lane from the bridge all the way to the lakes though would help a lot. and be minimally invasive to the area.