Jump to content

Northern EBR Parish Development


dan326

Recommended Posts


Sounds like a significantly bigger version of what's already there.  More of an ED with trauma staff than an ER.  No ambulances, but it has an attached clinic to handle the multitude of patients that have no business in an ER, and enough staff to stabilize trauma patients just enough to have them transported to OLOL, which always has plenty of residents to go around.

If they are prying a live patient out of a mangled car anywhere within 60 miles of Baton Rouge (or more), they are going to OLOL one way or another.

Frankly, that's adequate, and seems to please everyone.  

Now we should move on to complaining that OLOL is a Level 2 Trauma Center instead of a Level 1.  

Edited by cajun
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Central's new urban village should tie in (Shoe :D) well on the south-end of the new little downtown area developing at Sullivan/Wax .....almost needs it's own Topic separated from NBR thread

Two new restaurants, coffee house, fitness center coming to Central in new TND

https://www.businessreport.com/business/two-new-restaurants-coffee-house-fitness-center-coming-central-new-tnd-2

Two months after the historic flood of 2016 devastated much of Central, city leaders and developers from Lafayette-based Southern Lifestyles Development this morning are celebrating the groundbreaking of the Settlement at Shoe Creek, a 150-acre traditional neighborhood development on Sullivan Road that will bring 125,000 square feet of commercial space, 457 single-family homes and 250 multifamily units to the area.

shoecreek-entry1.jpg-.jpg?q=60&crop=faces&fit=crop&w=808&h=500&dpr=2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the maps I'm looking at are correct, the land where Shoe Creek is being built as well as the Magnolia Square area are both pretty high ground.   

Central is turning into a nice community, and they could use the good news.   They did not lose nearly as many students as I expected.   Signs are pointing to a relatively smooth recovery in the area although there's a long road ahead of everyone.   

Edited by cajun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/29/2016 at 8:28 PM, dan326 said:

^Yeah, i drove through Magnolia Square and didn't see much damage. I think Central will be the next "nice" suburb after Prairieville.

 

Maybe I haven't seen what you've seen there.....but to me Prarieville is kind of thrown together and ugly.   No cohesive planning or design language at all.   Certainly not a bad place, but nothing special even though there's definitely some nicer homes in some parts.  I don't think it's too late to make some changes that really impact how the area looks and feels in the future though.    Still plenty of space to grow.  Most of the streets have not been improved from their rural cross section. 

Edited by cajun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Understandably  some locals are against the large Shoe Creek TND... wanting Central to preserve that rural feel....but the Central Thruway was a game changer(call it the Central-Shenandoah connector) with more development & residences having much easier access to I-12. & the community School system only amplifies this...

The Central developments are still plenty fragmented...the city/community covers such a large swath...(62 square miles)...but they have been wanting a Town Center...with Mini-public square since 05'

 

Yeah Praireville is basically a spur of SE BR...Until it becomes "incorporated"..it will remain a hodge-podge of developments with no true discernable downtown area...one might think it's the busy Wal-mart area along Airline Hwy when it's really further south at the curve next to the Old Oak Trees in the Median at the broken Hwy 73 intersection

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, cajun said:

 

Maybe I haven't seen what you've seen there.....but to me Prarieville is kind of thrown together and ugly.   No cohesive planning or design language at all.   Certainly not a bad place, but nothing special even though there's definitely some nicer homes in some parts.  I don't think it's too late to make some changes that really impact how the area looks and feels in the future though.    Still plenty of space to grow.  Most of the streets have not been improved from their rural cross section. 

Lol!, I was trying to be sensitive to people sentiments. What I really meant by "nice" was in fact having a collection of nicer homes. Unfortunately, I don't think Baton Rouge currently has any nice suburbs as a whole, just nice developments taken individually although Zachary is a runner up. I think if our development ever makes it that far St. Francisville could turn into an upscale suburb too.

I think 4 laning the streets in Ascension and having planted medians with small trees would improve the looks of things.

Edited by dan326
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the suburbs that can retain that small town feel.   In 40 years, I hope that St. Francisville and New Roads don't become overgrown versions of Ascension Parish.   Just my opinion, but I think both of those towns are currently two of the prettiest smaller towns in the state and I'd hate to see them lose their character......and both are probably closer to downtown Baton Rouge than the far reaches of Gonzales or Walker during rush hour.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/1/2016 at 4:07 PM, dan326 said:

Lol!, I was trying to be sensitive to people sentiments. What I really meant by "nice" was in fact having a collection of nicer homes. Unfortunately, I don't think Baton Rouge currently has any nice suburbs as a whole, just nice developments taken individually although Zachary is a runner up. I think if our development ever makes it that far St. Francisville could turn into an upscale suburb too.

I think 4 laning the streets in Ascension and having planted medians with small trees would improve the looks of things.

I agree.  Ascension and Livingston are experiencing a lot of unchecked growth.   For the most part, the old rural communities and businesses are being pushed out (and in some cases demolished) and replaced with middle class housing.   

You are also correct that they need to improve their infrastructure and keep aesthetics and pedestrian features in mind as they grow.   I think Central is more willing to control development and tax themselves, thus are probably ahead of Ascension.   Zachary also seems to be taking steps to improve.   I can see both areas being developed more deliberately and carefully than Ascension or Livingston (and probably most of Baton Rouge if I'm honest).    

I think Ascension is probably at least as politically organized as Livingston, but neither have a strong zoning or planning commission IMO.   Much of both areas are unincorporated, which traditionally means lower taxes (good thing) but less control over what gets built and how things develop (bad thing).   Long term, I'm not confident that Ascension or Livingston will solve their infrastructure problems.  I think they'll be chasing it constantly and struggling to manage unchecked growth for a long time.  It's the rural mindset that still has a grasp on government despite the influx of suburban residents.   

I'd like to see Ascension and Livingston be as aggressive in building out their sewer/drainage and their road network as they have been with their schools.    IMO Livingston and the entire region needs to be pushing for more connections over the Amite river, such as at Hooper Road.  

Edited by cajun
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
On 11/2/2016 at 4:57 PM, dan326 said:

Hmm, I didn't know about the benefits of incorporation. I guess as the population becomes more urbane incorporation of larger areas may be discussed.

I think most of you know me as a relatively small government conservative.....but as someone who is currently weighing a move to Baton Rouge, I'd feel better about building my dream home in an incorporated community with their own police, relatively strict building codes, signage restrictions, and the ability to tax itself to an extent.    I'm not familiar with Ascension Parish government though.  They may be very responsive to the needs of the taxpayers, although I don't see how given how far behind they are with infrastructure.

Baton Rouge is not a small town and hasn't been in a while.  A lot of folks around there still have that "small town" mentality as if that attitude alone will stop what is coming.   Baton Rouge will sprawl regardless of what anyone does.   The best we can do is attempt to control it, prepare for it, and try to at least make the most of what will happen.

Edited by cajun
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

If they were ever to build the street car line and eventually expand it out towards mid city, would N 22nd/Plank be the ideal route to connect to the North Baton Rouge street grid?  I think that's where I'd put it.   

N-22nd to Plank, Plank to 72nd, then through Howell Place to BTR.   That's assuming these things can cross freight rail tracks.  

Edited by cajun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is what I was thinking.  The lines to both north BR and mid city should feed into downtown on N.22nd/North Blvd (over the overpass).   

The lines to LSU and the medical district would feed in on the original Nicholson/4th street tracks (the Orange trains would follow a track along Bayou Duplanier adjacent to new walking trails to the Perkins/Kenilworth area, then cross Perkins on Dijon and extend to Hennessy/Suma).  

Since downtown is likely to be the destination for most riders, I thought it should be the transfer point for every train.  

From a passenger's perspective:

Pink trains would in essence go from the airport to downtown.  
Yellow trains would go from Mid City to downtown.
Purple would go from Southdowns to downtown
Orange would be the connection between the medical district to LSU/Downtown
Red is the original LSU/Downtown train, eventually extended north and south to encompass more neighborhoods as ridership increases

 

Lines.png

 

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

That would destroy Park Blvd! No way! 

You inspired me to make a map for my ideal routes with stops. The Mid-City connector would make a loop with the LSU line. The Medical Center line would force riders to transfer depending on if they are going to LSU or Mid-City/Downtown. 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O4q97R_4vkyUOHAOMxkIlacGb1U&usp=sharing

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Antrell Williams said:

That would destroy Park Blvd! No way! 

 

I figured that it would be best if we could separate the street car from the regular traffic, so it wasn't subject to gridlock so much.

So, I tried to find routes that could either afford to lose lane capacity (Park, N 22nd, Government, Plank) or could be widened without much effort (Nicholson)...which is why I stayed off Perkins and Stanford, where the street cars would be sitting in traffic.  Park Blvd has parallel spaces and travel lanes.   A street car could fit easily without changing much of anything if we could eliminate the parking.  

My logic behind using North Blvd was that the trains could pass over the future AMTRAK station underneath without disruption, and they could easily converge at N22nd, which is a 4 lane road that could become a two lane road with dedicated street car lanes.

Edited by cajun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my proposal deal, the train would take priority over auto traffic. When tracks are laid in travel lanes, the lights for that street would remain green as the car passes. The only time it would stop would be to pick up or drop off passengers. The metro in Houston is the same, at least in some intersections.

You're right about Park Blvd though. Parking could be sacrificed. Would it be that much of a concern to have two trains crossing paths?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's some really nice work y'all :shades:  Like those ideas!! The multi-pronged approach w the light-rail coming out of downtown....Plank Rd/Airport/Southern U...Government St/Mid-city to Independence Park.....Nicholson/LSU....Perkins Road out to the Medical/Health District/Mall of La/Perkins Rowe...

The Perkins Rd Overpass area could present a challenge

Acadian Thruway swerving around could be tricky

Interesting on the Bayou Duplantier proposal...that would have to be a few miles of "elevated track" along the low-lying watershed...walking trails at the very least would be nice connecting LSU to the Health District

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

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.