134 replies to this topic

[bigboyz05]

I'm just wondering about what's going on there.

[NCB]

One major factor in Lafayette currently is that there are 30,000+ evacuees from SE or SW Louisiana living in the city, which gives Lafayette a current population of around 150,000, the metro area has also seen a surge in residents and is now estimated to be near 550,000 people.

There is actually alot of activity going on in downtown Lafayette currently.

I know that there is a major renovation taking place on Bank One Tower, which at 200ft is Lafayette's tallest building. I know of some new somewhat upscale hotels(Hilton, Marriot, DoubleTree) being built in and around downtown. There are also some mid sized condos proposed for the downtown area.

University of Louisiana Lafayette is also doing very well. It is a leading university in Louisiana wetland research, which is now very important after Katrina. It is also becoming a popular business and technology oriented university. ULL now has nearly 20,000 students, which is second in the state to LSU's 35,000+ students.

[bigboyz05]

That's good to hear! Lafayette is growing a lot faster than I thought.

[NCB]

^Yea Lafayette is really doing well right now. Large population gain, large number of new business developments along with residential developments, and it's university is doing very well. It looks like Lafayette has a bright future ahead of it.

[Spartan]

So Lafayette is nearly the size of Baton Rouge post-Katrina?

[NCB]

^It's still got a way's to go before it catches up with Baton Rouge's pre-Katrina population which was 227,000. And it's way behind in post-Katrina population, with Baton Rouge estimated to have over 350,000 residents.
Though the city of Lafayette was growing much faster than the city of Baton Rouge pre-Katrina.

[bigboyz05]

With the whole region booming like it is, do you think it's possible to soon have a New Orleans/Baton Rouge/Lafayette metro area?

[NCB]

bigboyz05, on Jan 20 2006, 08:54 PM, said:

With the whole region booming like it is, do you think it's possible to soon have a New Orleans/Baton Rouge/Lafayette metro area?

I seriously doubt it, the cities are just to far apart. Lafayette is about 150 miles west of New Orleans, so I just don't see that happening for quite some time. The closest thing you are going to see to a Lafayette-Baton Rouge-New Orleans metro area is a New Orleans-Baton Rouge metro, which could seriously happen in the next few years.

Going on pre-Katrina stats, nearly 2.6 million of Louisiana's 4.5 million residents lived in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, or Lafayette areas, so more then half of the state's population is concentrated in this 200 mile east-west area. Though again I just think Lafayette is to far away from New Orleans and even Baton Rouge to be included in a possible 3 anchor city metro area any time soon. New Orleans is only a bit closer to Baton Rouge than Lafayette is to Baton Rouge, but going on post-Katrina projections, the population density between N.O. and B.R. will be much higher, and the two cities will be linked very closely in terms of business and infrastructure, and Lafayette is a bit more on it's own in these categories.

[breaux]

Do you have any specific details about the downtown development you mentioned?  I have heard each one mentioned, but can't seem to get any other information about them.

Also, the biggest inhibitor to a Lafayette/Baton Rouge/New Orleans megaoplis would be the Atchafalaya Swamp.  The area between Baton Rouge and Lafayette along I-10 is very sparsely populated.  Expect Lafayette to grow north to Opelousas and south to New Iberia along the 1-49 corridor.

[NCB]

breaux, on Jan 21 2006, 01:14 PM, said:

Do you have any specific details about the downtown development you mentioned?  I have heard each one mentioned, but can't seem to get any other information about them.

Also, the biggest inhibitor to a Lafayette/Baton Rouge/New Orleans megaoplis would be the Atchafalaya Swamp.  The area between Baton Rouge and Lafayette along I-10 is very sparsely populated.  Expect Lafayette to grow north to Opelousas and south to New Iberia along the 1-49 corridor.

I haven't been able to find any more info on those projects. I read about them on the internet, and saw some of the sites where they will be built in Lafayette when I went over to visit some family there last weekend. It has become very hard to find news on developments that aren't considered to be "major" on the internet.

Great point about the Achafalaya Swamp, it's basically a natural barrier to any growth that could take place between Baton Rouge and Lafayette in that area.Once you cross over the swamp, you can really tell that Baton Rouge ended at the start of the swamp, and Lafayette begins at the end.

[Rural King]

^ Yeah, one needs to make sure they have gas before journeying on I-10 across Achafalaya swamp between Lafayette and Baton Rouge. Exits get rather sparse.

[NCB]

Rural King, on Feb 5 2006, 02:35 PM, said:

^ Yeah, one needs to make sure they have gas before journeying on I-10 across Achafalaya swamp between Lafayette and Baton Rouge. Exits get rather sparse.

I believe the Achafalaya Swamp I-10 bridge at around 21 miles long, is one of the four longest over water highway bridges in the world, with the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway being first.

[richyb83]

The Atchafayala Basin is a national treasure . With 595,000 acres ,it's the largest swamp in the U.S.   This area needs to be permantly protected .

[NCB]

richyb83, on Feb 5 2006, 03:22 PM, said:

The Atchafayala Basin is a national treasure . With 595,000 acres ,it's the largest swamp in the U.S.   This area needs to be permantly protected .

I agree. I really hope the protection of the Atchafalaya Basin is looked into soon.

[alon504]

Not to mention that unbelieveably wonderful crawfish that come from there!!!

[Mith242]

alon504, on Feb 7 2006, 10:04 PM, said:

Not to mention that unbelieveably wonderful crawfish that come from there!!!

Is there a big difference in where the crawfish/crawdads are from?

[NCB]

Mith242, on Feb 8 2006, 04:41 PM, said:

Is there a big difference in where the crawfish/crawdads are from?

There can be in some situations, but IMO, the biggest difference is how they are prepared.

[bigboyz05]

Crawfish are good but, my favorite are shrimp. I can eat them things all day long!

[NCB]

bigboyz05, on Feb 11 2006, 10:12 AM, said:

Crawfish are good but, my favorite are shrimp. I can eat them things all day long!

Haha, I could do the same. I really don't have a favorit between crawfish and shrimp, it really just depeds on what I feel like eating.

[breaux]

Back to the subject of development, city leaders are working hard on a proposed toll loop.  According to the Daily Advertiser:

Quote

Residents could be asked to give input into a proposed toll loop around Lafayette in coming months, an engineering consultant said today.

Consultants with HNTB expect to finish meeting with area mayors and other stakeholders in the next week and have begun meeting with representatives of agencies such as Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to discuss the scope of the project.

The Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission engaged the help of HNTB to study the feasibility of a toll loop around Lafayette Parish.

The website for the Lafayette Metro Expressway Commission is http://www.lafayettexpressway.com/.