Green Light Plan

[twstdndmntd]

Guys I live in Sherwood Forest and I have to say all of that new interchange maddness they did really did nothing to help the traffic on Sherwood itself, nor did it do anything to address the traffic on 12. To me the whole interchange is a mess, a clover leaf would have been a huge improvement. There are way to many traffic lights in that one area. From Harrells Ferry to Harrells Ferry there is a total of 4 traffic lights. They can put all the extra turning lanes they want it won't help. If they wanted to do an improvement, they should have addressed the traffic lights themselves and how people are turning in directions. Now when you want to turn onto 12 east bound you have 1 turning lane that is short and can't fit that many cars, therefore you eased the backup to turn onto 12 west bound but backed it up on Sherwood turning east bound, all they did was shift the back up from one light to another. Again if they want to address traffic give us 2 continuous exit lanes between Sherwood and Airline.

[BatonRougeToday]

Guys I live in Sherwood Forest and I have to say all of that new interchange maddness they did really did nothing to help the traffic on Sherwood itself, nor did it do anything to address the traffic on 12. To me the whole interchange is a mess, a clover leaf would have been a huge improvement. There are way to many traffic lights in that one area. From Harrells Ferry to Harrells Ferry there is a total of 4 traffic lights. They can put all the extra turning lanes they want it won't help. If they wanted to do an improvement, they should have addressed the traffic lights themselves and how people are turning in directions. Now when you want to turn onto 12 east bound you have 1 turning lane that is short and can't fit that many cars, therefore you eased the backup to turn onto 12 west bound but backed it up on Sherwood turning east bound, all they did was shift the back up from one light to another. Again if they want to address traffic give us 2 continuous exit lanes between Sherwood and Airline.

I live pretty close to you and I agree totally.... what the heck is all that going to be good for? I was hoping they'd make it so that when you exited I-12 going eastbound you could go straight over Sherwood onto Harrells Ferry without having to turn and wait to make a left. That seems like the most logical choice. That and they wouldn't have had to close Pasta Garden!

[byrde]

I live pretty close to you and I agree totally.... what the heck is all that going to be good for? I was hoping they'd make it so that when you exited I-12 going eastbound you could go straight over Sherwood onto Harrells Ferry without having to turn and wait to make a left. That seems like the most logical choice. That and they wouldn't have had to close Pasta Garden!

When they first announced that they were going to do some work in that area, I thought they were going to align Harrell Ferry so that you could go straight across. Similar to what they did at the I-10/College/Constitution interchange.

[twstdndmntd]

Oh a fly-over to go directly onto Harrell's Ferry would have been nice. Just like why didn't they put exit lanes on Sherwood so that people going onto the Interstate didn't have to wait in the same lane as people wanting continue going straight. I just don't know about that 10/College/Constitution interchange, to me that is another intersection that has way to many traffic lights bunched up together. That seems like it would be a complete nightmare to people that aren't from here. Sometimes it's nightmare for me LOL

[BatonRougeToday]

Oh a fly-over to go directly onto Harrell's Ferry would have been nice. Just like why didn't they put exit lanes on Sherwood so that people going onto the Interstate didn't have to wait in the same lane as people wanting continue going straight. I just don't know about that 10/College/Constitution interchange, to me that is another intersection that has way to many traffic lights bunched up together. That seems like it would be a complete nightmare to people that aren't from here. Sometimes it's nightmare for me LOL

Man, no kidding. I avoid that intersection like the plague. There's always some distraught woman not sure which way to turn or where she's going though. LOL

Seriously though, what is really the point of not straightening out Harrells Ferry right there? Its just a big grassy area with a few trees. What gives!

[twstdndmntd]

Man, no kidding. I avoid that intersection like the plague. There's always some distraught woman not sure which way to turn or where she's going though. LOL

Seriously though, what is really the point of not straightening out Harrells Ferry right there? Its just a big grassy area with a few trees. What gives!

LOL. I have quit trying to figure out the roads in this city, it only makes me angry. I have come to the conclusion there is simply no logic with them. They put them where they want regardless of anything else, and they put traffic signals wherever people have a problem turning. I really think that the city needs to have forums with the residents in the city for imput before they do anykind of "improvements". Just us here on this thread have come up with simple but realistic ways of improving traffic flow in this city. Mind you most of our ideas have nothing to do with widening anything but simple things they can do. I always like to go back to signage for our surface roads that indicate which lane you need to be in to enter the interstate. They REALLY need to be at least a 1/2 mile before the actual entrance and not on the entrance. You have no idea it's going to be an entrance lane until you are at the interstate and in most cases by then it's too late, i.e. Essen Ln., College Dr.

[richyb83]

Central bridge costs drop.....This does not mention the R.R. Overpass?? Sorry the image came up so big.

The most expensive city-parish road project in the history of Baton Rouge is apparently getting cheaper. Bids received for the Central Thruway project

[twstdndmntd]

OMG!!! I can't wait for this to be done. I really hope it takes some of the traffic load off of Sherwood Forest Blvd.

[MobileLSUboy09]

ok wow, this is great.... for like 10 people who need to commute to Central every day... there are SOO many more worse traffic problems and new road projects that need to be completed WAY before this $60m project gets completed! liiiiike, widen Nicholson AT LEAST to Lee/Brightside, widen Lee between perkins and highland, and does no one notice there is no due east-west route south of I-12? its impossible to get anywhere on the south side of BR...

[buckett5425]

I agree with MobileLSUboy09. While im glad to see BR is taking on its traffic problems and being somewhat progressive, is this the best place we can be spending $60 million dollars, on a road that goes to nowhere? Atleast in 2010 i will have a quick and easy way to get to the only dairy queen in East Baton Rouge Parish. Seriously, there are many other roads that could be using that money for widening, then creating a whole new road that will only further add to the problems of urban sprawl.

[richyb83]

Agreed yall. No doubt there are more pressing needs closer in the city. You can thank the geniuses of the Southdowns civic ass-ociation for keeping Lee Drive two-laned. And Nicholson was a nightmare the other night; should work with the Green Light Plan be starting on this to Brightside; as well as the R.R. crossing improvements??

The diagonal NW/SE flow of the streets seem to hurt direct east/west routes south of I-12. Coursey Blvd. goes east/west; then becomes Bluebonnet and hooks to the south; crazy. I remember when they connected those two major streets with just a short stretch of road.

Central get's it's vital connection to I-12. It connects to O'Neal Lane which should be seriously widened for emergency purposes with direct access to Hwy.190 when there are wrecks on Amite River bridge/hurricane evacuations,etc.

[MobileLSUboy09]

yea i know the streams cause problems with the east-west routes, and since im a bit of an environmentalist, i wouldn't recommend doing what they did in Mobile which is diverting all the streams through the city to underground pipes or moving them to concrete canals... Well they could add service/feeder roads all along 10/12 to help east-west flow... the service roads along I-65 and Airport Blvd in Mobile are a great help on traffic North-South through the center of town, so if you want to go from one east-west route to the next, you DONT have to use the interstate! Oh well, maybe now that Rouzan is moving forward, they will finally allow them to widen Lee... if it stays 2-lanes it will be pure hell!

PS: Baton Rouge, HURRY UP with widening Burbank... the bridges are all already in-place! just add some dirt and slap some concrete down!!

[cajun]

Lee Drive....

I was having a good day, too. They should have bought out those morons ten years ago and widened the road. At least then, you'd have less opposition to Rouzon.

"southdowns......fighting progress since 1998"

ok wow, this is great.... for like 10 people who need to commute to Central every day... there are SOO many more worse traffic problems and new road projects that need to be completed WAY before this $60m project gets completed! liiiiike, widen Nicholson AT LEAST to Lee/Brightside, widen Lee between perkins and highland, and does no one notice there is no due east-west route south of I-12? its impossible to get anywhere on the south side of BR...

Dude, Central is going to explode with the new school district. I'm glad someone is thinking ahead, even though it being 4 lane is a ploy for Holden to appeal to white voters.

There is about 15,000 or so people that live out in that direction, and there are no job centers. It's a bedroom community, and all traffic is diverted to Sherwood and Hooper road.

As for Nicholson: It's mostly LSU students in that area. I think Baton Rouge has proven that when it's not football season, those old bible thumpers could care less about LSU or it's anti-MADD students. I am pretty sure that Burbank, Nicholson, and Brightside will be pushed back or removed from the green light plan.

Holden's not looking like such a good choice anymore. At least not to me.

He didn't even show up to the Planning Commission meeting yesterday.

[yis2003yis]

Lee Drive....

I was having a good day, too. They should have bought out those morons ten years ago and widened the road. At least then, you'd have less opposition to Rouzon.

"southdowns......fighting progress since 1998"

Dude, Central is going to explode with the new school district. I'm glad someone is thinking ahead, even though it being 4 lane is a ploy for Holden to appeal to white voters.

There is about 15,000 or so people that live out in that direction, and there are no job centers. It's a bedroom community, and all traffic is diverted to Sherwood and Hooper road.

As for Nicholson: It's mostly LSU students in that area. I think Baton Rouge has proven that when it's not football season, those old bible thumpers could care less about LSU or it's anti-MADD students. I am pretty sure that Burbank, Nicholson, and Brightside will be pushed back or removed from the green light plan.

Holden's not looking like such a good choice anymore. At least not to me.

He didn't even show up to the Planning Commission meeting yesterday.

I agree with you on some parts........They will need that for central

But i still like holden...u can't blame him for 1 or 2 things..from the time he's been in office...look how much this city has progressed and future plans.....think about before he was in office....what was this city like????? and every time you see him...he's on the news saying hey this is a good look for baton rouge and he's telling you about somethin New For the City......what can u say for the Other Mayors who only put money in their familys pockets and this city Suffered???

[MobileLSUboy09]

Haha, well I don't dislike Holden, (he actually reminds me a lot of my mayor, Sam Jones, in Mobile). But yea, the growth around the LSU area is just as important as any other area of town, if not more, since it is such a revenue-generating area for the city, and is so densly populated with the many apartment complexes around, and now the planned building of a HUGE retail center at Lee and Burbank...

And yes, I note that Central will have rapid expansion, and I'm all for good foresight, but at the same time, why can't they have put the same effort into fixing problems that already exist in the LSU area...like road widening, and traffic light synchronization and making it so when you cross the RR tracks at Brightside, you don't get air by going 15mph over the hill (as fun as that may be...) If they want to build new roads....thats cool, but simultaneously fix the ones that are already screwed up! I don't even need to mention the problems with I-10 and 12 that i KNOW have been going on for at least 5 years...

All the sudden, Central becomes its own town and what not, and they get the parish to make new roads!? Who's sleeping with who to get that taken care of!!?

[buckett5425]

I agree, while foresight is important, BR needs to fix the problems at hand before building roads to no where and trying to get votes.

[twstdndmntd]

Sorry that you guys feel that the Central Thruway is not needed, trust me it is. I live in Sherwood Forest and as it stands anyone wanting to go from 12 to Central has to come down Sherwood Forest Blvd to get there, there are NO other direct routes there. If you don't think there are enough people coming from there into BR think again, those people congest SF Blvd every single day. Only other alternative for those people is to go down Millerville to Old Hammond then to Flannery. Not pratical for a driver. Not to mention the Central Thruway has been long talked about and been on the planning books for years, we are just now getting funding for it to actually be done. I say BRAVO!!!!!

[richyb83]

I definetly think the Central Thruway is needed. The east edge of EBR is bursting; I was just saying there were more pressing needs closer in the city like Lee Drive. There are so many projects on the board they can't get to them fast enough.

Central Thruway has been talked about since 1991 so Central becoming a city had nothing to do with it. Kip Holden was pivotal in getting this thing rolling with 4-lanes too. Actually Central's population is somewhere between 24-27,000. Like twisted said Sherwood Forest Blvd, Flannery and Millerville are overburdened trying to get access to I-12 and major shopping areas, hospital, etc. As I said before it's a vital route for emegency's and this connects O'Neal Lane that's still a 1950's 2-laned road to I-12; too important route on the edge between Hwy 190 and I-12. O'Neal will finally be widened thanks to the Green Light program started by Holden.

Overall I'm still pleased with Mayor Holden; I realize nobody is perfect. He needed to step up on Rouzan last night at the meeting and basically gave into the same vocal NIMBY's that continue to impede progress(Crescent condo's at University Lake, widening Lee Drive, Rouzan). He also seems to favor Pinnacle casino; bec. more tax revenue to EBR...$ signs yet promotes downtown. But still....No doubt Mayor Holden has been good for the city.

[dan326]

Central Thruway shouldn't take too long since the land is already cleared.

I think Mayor Kip is awesome!

I've flipped and flopped many times, but this time I mean it when I say that casino sucks and we are getting short-changed. I only wish that another developer could build that neighborhood and shopping center.

[twstdndmntd]

I love the Mayor. I think he has a real love for the city and sees the true potential BR has. On alot of things he is willing to go out on a limb on issues that upset alot of people. So he didn't voice his oppinion at the planning meeting so what, why should he when tonight he was going to be at the Council meeting where they would be discussing the same issue. For me his voice is more helpful/hurtful at the Council meeting than at the Planning meeting. Course you never know what you going to get out of the Council from one day to the next. I SOOO can't wait till we elect basically a whole new Council. I just hope the newbies will be open-minded and willing to make tough decisions for the greater good of the city as a whole and not just a few.

[richyb83]

FINALLY!! It's about time!!!

Downtown signals modernized

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/13294272.html

Downtown Baton Rouge is about to undergo a traffic signal makeover, thanks to Mayor-President Kip Holden

[twstdndmntd]

FINALLY!! It's about time!!!

Downtown signals modernized

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/13294272.html

Downtown Baton Rouge is about to undergo a traffic signal makeover, thanks to Mayor-President Kip Holden's Green Light Plan.

"It's going to change the entire streetscape in the downtown area," Downtown Development Director Davis Rhorer said Friday.

Rhorer said he's heard engineers joke that the existing downtown traffic signals are so old, they belong in a museum. Most are at least 50 years old and don't have the technical capacity to allow much synchronization.

By contrast, the new signals will be state-of-the-art and will feature pedestrian signals that will count the seconds down to red.

Well I just hope they fix it so that when you are a pedestrian crossing the street you don't still have traffic turning where you are walking. Great example of this is the intersection of N. Blvd and River Rd.

[richyb83]

They broke-ground for the widening of Burbank today.

This project will add additional traffic lanes and turn lanes, as well as make improvements to the intersections along Burbank Drive from 800' east of W. Lee Drive intersection to a point 3000' west of Bluebonnet Boulevard then to Highland. The purpose of the project is to provide an improved east-west route to the LSU and Downtown areas and relieve the congestion along Highland Road. As reflected in the City-Parish Major Street Plan, the improved Burbank Drive will tie to north-south improvements along Staring Lane, Bluebonnet Boulevard and Siegen Lane.

wafb.com has the video

It could be called Burbank Expressway??

[byrde]

The right of way is already in place so it shouldn't take to long to get this project rolling.

[twstdndmntd]

I think this is a great road project. I think it's going to enhance more development in that area. I hope that later on they actually expand Burbank past Siegen and actually have it either connect with the future loop or with I10. They had mentioned it connecting with Sullivan Rd. Where is Sullivan Rd.? lol