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Perkins Road Overpass Corridor

richyb83

By richyb83
in Baton Rouge

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jefften10
jefften10

Im working on a lease to bring my gourmet donut shop, Tiger Deaux-nuts to the empty Bosco's spot in between JJ and Rock n Sake. Feel like that would be a much better addition than another pizza place.

cajun
cajun

I've heard the same platitude spouted by people that oppose infrastructure investment  in a number of places and I disagree with even considering it as a problem here.   Opposition to these projects t

buckett5425
buckett5425

In what way is there no room for pedestrian and street improvements along Perkins? The right of way on Magazine from building to building is 60'. The buildings along Perkins are set back far enough fr

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richyb83 Megalopolis

richyb83

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Perkins Overpass neighborhood popularity increases while infrastructure remains the same

 

The mixed-use neighborhood is cut-through on the northwest by the Perkins Overpass, bisected above by interstate 10 and barred to the southeast by the massive intersection at Acadian Thruway. Residential neighborhoods and train tracks complete the border, creating an insulated area of locally owned and operated shops, restaurants, bars and a handful of new-to-the-area chains, like Acme Oyster House and the state's only Trader Joe's.

 

"The neighborhood there is really good and strong," said commercial developer Chad Ortte, who was involved in the development that now houses The Big Squeezy and Jimmy John's. "The area has existing DNA, a community fabric, and this can sometimes be easier to leverage for growth or redevelopment."

 

The neighborhood began to take shape when the Perkins Overpass was built in 1937, but many of the area's business owners said the most recent catalyst for change came in 2006 when the iconic hardware store burned down. An electrical fire destroyed the much-beloved business, and when owner Jeff Canady's plans to rebuild proved too costly, the building was sold to developers.

 

Ortte and his team turned the space into a mixed-use development, and he believes that helped many to see the possibilities of what the neighborhood could become. "It was the first project that kind of took that area in a different direction," he said, though he was personally reticent to say his was the "tipping point" for Overpass area. "A lot of times, it takes one project to change people's perception and people's mind about what it is that's there. It's been that way for so long, then something new comes and you go, 'wait a second, this is a good neighborhood.'"

 

But putting shovels in the ground to create that development didn't come without its challenges, chief among them being parking. Like Thibodeaux, the owner of L&S Awards, Ortte had trouble navigating the difficulty that comes with Baton Rougeans' appreciation for the motor vehicle.

 

"In Baton Rouge, we have this mentality that we have to drive up to our table," he said. "We don't want to walk, and that's how it's been developed. When we put parking behind the restaurant under the interstate, people were like, 'that's so far.' Just because parking is in the rear, it doesn't mean it's far."

 

The Perkins Road Overpass -- the bridge that gives this area its name -- only offers two lanes of traffic with a narrow sidewalk, making it difficult for cyclists and some pedestrians to cross, making it difficult to connect the two mixed-used stretches that make up the Overpass area. That, coupled with a lack of sidewalk connectivity, means, the neighborhood would likely need an influx of improvements to unite the two sections and allow more businesses could take advantage of the growing popularity.

 

Then-LSU graduate student Douglas Thompson proposed several changes to the neighborhood in 2007 with a project entitled "Perkins Road Underpass: Reconnecting Across Barriers," which garnered him a national award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Among the suggestions Thompson posed were "policies to encourage greater connection to a more pedestrian space," but so far his suggestions have not been widely heeded

 

*rest of article...MAP of area shown

http://www.nola.com/business/baton-rouge/index.ssf/2014/03/perkins_overpass_neighborhood.html

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cajun Town

cajun

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Interesting that a hardware store is going in there.  You don't see smaller hardware stores very often anymore.   I honestly think the "do it yourself" home improvement project is something completely lost on my generation.   I figured smaller hardware stores would continue suffer even as the indie grocers flourish.

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richyb83 Megalopolis

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CPEX, city-parish planning streetscape improvements on Perkins Road near overpass

More trees, lighting and crosswalks could be coming to Perkins Road near the overpass as part of a proposed project to spruce up the streetscape along the popular stretch of restaurants, bars and shops.

The Center for Planning Excellence is working with city-parish traffic engineers to improve the traffic flow there while also making it safer for pedestrians on and around that stretch of Perkins.

“We love the area and it’s already a really vibrant place, and it needs just a little help to be a more vibrant, easier to get around spot,” says Lauren Marschall, a project manager for CPEX. “And we know the city is interested in doing improvements.”

The project is in the early planning stages and certain aspects could still change, but preliminary plans call for adding more trees and flowers along Perkins, adding on-street parking and more crosswalks, putting more lighting around the overpass and increasing the wattage on the lights under Interstate 10.

The addition of the trees and flowers would not only improve the aesthetics of the area, but also help to differentiate where parking spots are versus where pedestrians can walk,

#rest of article

https://www.businessreport.com/article/center-planning-excellence-east-baton-rouge-planning-streetscape-improvements-perkins-road-near-overpass

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greg225 Hamlet

greg225

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CPEX bringing Better Block BR demonstration to Perkins Road overpass area next month

Three years after reworking a stretch of Government Street in Mid City to show residents how the area could be more pedestrian friendly, the Center for Planning Excellence is bringing its Better Block BR initiative to the Perkins Road overpass area.

When residents along Perkins Road see the demonstration, set to take place April 22-24, the area may hardly be recognizable. Perkins Road will be landscaped with newly-planted trees. A BREC pocket park will appear in an empty lot at the corner of Perkins and Ferndale Avenue, and there will be on-street parallel parking.

All of this will be temporarily placed along the popular stretch of restaurants, bars and shops to give residents and business owners an idea of what the highly-traveled corridor could look like in the future.

“It can be done within the existing space,” says Camille Manning-Broome, senior vice president of planning and installation for CPEX. “We’re going to reconfigure what’s there with the existing space.”

CPEX, which is conducting the Better Block BR demonstration with the city-parish and area neighborhood associations, released on Friday a draft of the changes designers and planners have recommended to make the area safer for pedestrians and drivers.

City-parish engineers also have been planning changes to make the area safer.

CPEX received a $20,000 grant from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors and the Credit Bureau of Baton Rouge Foundation to create and implement the Better Block BR demonstration.

Following the event, CPEX will give reports to the city-parish and neighborhood organizations, and conduct resident surveys to stakeholders can begin working to bring the vision to fruition, Manning-Broome says.

The main safety improvements are the addition of parallel parking spots and the use of landscaping to create access points to parking lots, Manning-Broome says. The latter is needed because there are no visible markers showing where the entry points into some of the parking lots are or where it is safe for pedestrians to walk, Manning-Broome says. The former is needed because many of the storefront parking spaces along Perkins require drivers to back out into a busy stretch of the roadway.

Other facets of the plan, which could change over the next six weeks, include the installation of about 10 highly visible crosswalks along Perkins Road at Christian Street, Hollydale and Ferndale avenues; improving and cleaning the walking path under the Perkins Road overpass; and creating a one-way loop on the north part of Christian Street to tie into Greenwood Avenue and a side road that runs in front of City Pork and George’s.

The plan is also supported by a walking audit conducted by AARP Louisiana, Manning-Broome says. Some of the facets of the Better Block BR plan come from ideas national experts included in that report.

CPEX and city-parish traffic engineers held two meetings with area business owners about two weeks ago to answer questions, allay fears that the changes would negatively impact their businesses and gauge their feelings about the changes. Manning-Broome says the owners she has spoken with are 100% on board and excited to help.

CPEX has also spoken with other groups about lending a hand. Manning-Broome says they have talked to members of the BR Walls Project about painting some murals along the walls under the overpass and Varsity Sports has also expressed an interest in helping to clean up the trail to make it better for runners.

Casey Phillips, founder of the BR Walls project, says the group is excited about participating in the initiative, and are waiting to get some more information from CPEX before deciding on what designs they may incorporate into the project.

“We’re trying to do our part,” Phillips says.

https://www.businessreport.com/article/cpex-bringing-better-block-br-demonstration-perkins-road-overpass-area-next-month

   

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