Baton Rouge Coffee House

[all2neat]

I've been worried as well, Cajun. My best friend works for the Corp of Engineers in NOLA. He frequently forwards me their unclassified emails about the river. The emails are optimistic but there is definitely a sense of urgency in their tone. This is going to be a close one..... On a plus side though, if the levee breaches, maybe it will teach people to stop building slab on grade houses in a flood plain. Its okay to live in a flood plain, as long as your house is elevated appropriately.

You would have thought Katrina would have been lesson enough for the area....

[cajun]

On a plus side though, if the levee breaches, maybe it will teach people to stop building slab on grade houses in a flood plain. Its okay to live in a flood plain, as long as your house is elevated appropriately.

There is some development in the West Atchafalaya floodway, but the water would have to top a fuse plug levee. Melville, And Simmsport have ring levees, I believe.

No development in the Morganza floodway..some cattle, which is being moved. I've never seen Morganza opened....last time was 1973.

We could have flooding in places that were dry in 1927. This could be a huge disaster if ORCS breaks- potential for major loss of life and property.

Opening Morganza seems almost impossible to avoid at this point.

[buckett5425]

There is some development in the West Atchafalaya floodway, but the water would have to top a fuse plug levee. Melville, And Simmsport have ring levees, I believe.

No development in the Morganza floodway..some cattle, which is being moved. I've never seen Morganza opened....last time was 1973.

We could have flooding in places that were dry in 1927. This could be a huge disaster if ORCS breaks- potential for major loss of life and property.

Opening Morganza seems almost impossible to avoid at this point.

Cajun,

The point I made about slab on grade structures was about South Baton Rouge, not the limited amount of development that takes places within federally designated floodways. I have a feeling that if the levee were breached near LSU, and there was a massive amount of property damage, people will simply blame the problem on the Corp of Engineers, and forget that they DO live in a flood plain and are partially responsible for owning a house that sits on the ground.

Also, I have full faith in the engineers at the Old River Control Structure. I went on a private tour there last fall. I asked the engineer what would happen if the structure failed. He said that it take decades for the river to scour out a new deeper channel through Old River and that once the flood subsided, the corp could regain control will a massive earth works project. Also, if the structure did fail, I believe the people in Morgan City could be properly notified and would probably have about two hours to evacuate. Although the communities of Simsport and other cities along the Atchafalya would be in a much more disastrous problem to face.

Hopefully we can ride this one out......

[itsjustme3]

Cajun,

The point I made about slab on grade structures was about South Baton Rouge, not the limited amount of development that takes places within federally designated floodways. I have a feeling that if the levee were breached near LSU, and there was a massive amount of property damage, people will simply blame the problem on the Corp of Engineers, and forget that they DO live in a flood plain and are partially responsible for owning a house that sits on the ground.

like Katrina

[cajun]

Oh I agree....people should exercise caution when choosing a place to build, and cities should zone with flood protection in mind.

I think the area between the railroad and the levee in Old South and Brightside might be in danger here if there is a topping downtown.

That being said, parts of Memphis are flooding that have never seen water. This flooding may be a "500 year" event. There is potential for flooding at a magnitude that hasn't occur since the settlement of the delta region, and may not occur again for centuries. That goes beyond reasonable expectations of preparation...wouldn't you agree?

The people in those 100 year floodplains should know better and build accordingly..but if you purposefully built on an area that didn't flood in 1880 or in 1927, but floods now because of a levee failure or topping....that is different.

Cajun,

The point I made about slab on grade structures was about South Baton Rouge, not the limited amount of development that takes places within federally designated floodways. I have a feeling that if the levee were breached near LSU, and there was a massive amount of property damage, people will simply blame the problem on the Corp of Engineers, and forget that they DO live in a flood plain and are partially responsible for owning a house that sits on the ground.

Also, I have full faith in the engineers at the Old River Control Structure. I went on a private tour there last fall. I asked the engineer what would happen if the structure failed. He said that it take decades for the river to scour out a new deeper channel through Old River and that once the flood subsided, the corp could regain control will a massive earth works project. Also, if the structure did fail, I believe the people in Morgan City could be properly notified and would probably have about two hours to evacuate. Although the communities of Simsport and other cities along the Atchafalya would be in a much more disastrous problem to face.

Hopefully we can ride this one out......

Edited May 5, 2011 by cajun

[buckett5425]

like Katrina

For the record, Katrina was different. The Corp is not responsible for property damage if the water over tops the levees because its an "act of god." However, in Katrina, the levee's weren't overtopped, the were undermined by terrible construction and poor design. The Corp was found to be responsible for the failures of the levees.

For example, the levees in St. Benard failed before the highest storm surge reached them, that would have overtopped them. They have video evidence of this from a radio tower camera.

But i do agree, that all structures built in New Orleans should at least be the height of the levees. New Orleans used to build that way in the lowest parts of the city, such as mid city, but after the 1940's they abandoned the logical thing to do, and began building post war slab on grade ranch style houses......

[dan326]

I saw the Google Streetview car on Millerville!!

[steve3n8]

I saw the Google Streetview car on Millerville!!

Does this mean they are going to update Google maps soon? i sure hope so...

[all2neat]

I took a picture of the streetview car on Lobdell just the other day.

[richyb83]

Since the Forum is a lil' slow...wanted to revive a once popular thread by sharing a few of my hand-drawn street maps of fictitious cities...

 

From a few years back...."Palm Island City"

 

A more recent map...not completely finished...city not yet named

[garrett_225]

Since the Forum is a lil' slow...wanted to revive a once popular thread by sharing a few of my hand-drawn street maps of fictitious cities...

 

From a few years back...."Palm Island City"

 

A more recent map...not completely finished...city not yet named

 

Brings back great memories of the days when I used to do this! Mine never turned out this nicely, though. 

[Antrell Williams]

That's impressive Richy! There's like 3000 roundabouts in the last city!

[dan326]

Neat projects!

 

I wish I had the knowledge /resources to be a developer.  I have an idea for a complex with a various style parks(rose garden,  hedge maze,  etc.) , aviary /bird zoo,  custom carousel, lake, wedding pavilion/reception hall, and restaurant but don't know how to flesh it out the idea on paper. Lol

 

I also have ideas for neighborhoods named Corinthian ~something~ near Zachary or St. Francisville and Golden *natural feature* in West Baton Rouge. 

[Antrell Williams]

Neat projects!

 

I wish I had the knowledge /resources to be a developer.  I have an idea for a complex with a various style parks(rose garden,  hedge maze,  etc.) , aviary /bird zoo,  custom carousel, lake, wedding pavilion/reception hall, and restaurant but don't know how to flesh it out the idea on paper. Lol

 

I also have ideas for neighborhoods named Corinthian ~something~ near Zachary or St. Francisville and Golden *natural feature* in West Baton Rouge. 

Do many developers do it alone? I've played with the idea of trying to go that route, but didn't want to get sucked into that business. I feel it can be similar to politics were one could easily be swayed to work for yourself.

[dan326]

I don't know anything about developing, I just have a lot of ideas, as I'm sure we all do.

Edited June 23, 2014 by dan326

[Mr. Burnham]

Since the Forum is a lil' slow...wanted to revive a once popular thread by sharing a few of my hand-drawn street maps of fictitious cities...

 

From a few years back...."Palm Island City"

 

A more recent map...not completely finished...city not yet named

Wow! That's some awesome Urban Geo-fiction! I enjoy it as well, a current city I'm working on something inspired by Welthaupstadt Germania. 

[dan326]

Do you make up the streets yourself? 

[richyb83]

Thank y'all for all of the replies!

 

Thanks Mr. Bernham...Urban Geo-fiction huh? I Googled that and came across a cool website with a lot of maps...really neat...always wondered how alone I was drawing up imaginary cities that didn't exist....seems there are  more people doing this than I thought!  Maybe you can share your work on the Welthaupstadt  Germany one day...that's pretty cool stuff...I googled that too!

 

Thanks Garrett...I'm curious to see what you have drawn up too!

 

Ha...yeah Antrell my latest street map experiment has been implementing more Round-abouts....just an alternative to all of the unnecessary "stop & go"....after spending some days on a tiny island in the Turks & Caicos(a couple years ago) that had nothing but roundabouts; no stop lights; thought it was pretty cool to see how the traffic flowed!

 

Me too Dan... Being a developer seems to be a High risk- High reward type of endeavor...those ideas you have are creative! That's something I enjoy when drawing maps...you get to add parks/botanical gardens/zoo's/museums/ aquariums/IMAX/planetarium,etc where ever you feel like it  Also a Financial District; Uptown; University; different types of street grids, etc...

Edited June 24, 2014 by richyb83

[Mr. Burnham]

Thank y'all for all of the replies!

 

Thanks Mr. Bernham...Urban Geo-fiction huh? I Googled that and came across a cool website with a lot of maps...really neat...always wondered how alone I was drawing up imaginary cities that didn't exist....seems there are  more people doing this than I thought!  Maybe you can share your work on the Welthaupstadt  Germany one day...that's pretty cool stuff...I googled that too!

 

Thanks Garrett...I'm curious to see what you have drawn up too!

 

Ha...yeah Antrell my latest street map experiment has been implementing more Round-abouts....just an alternative to all of the unnecessary "stop & go"....after spending some days on a tiny island in the Turks & Caicos(a couple years ago) that had nothing but roundabouts; no stop lights; thought it was pretty cool to see how the traffic flowed!

 

Me too Dan... Being a developer seems to be a High risk- High reward type of endeavor...those ideas you have are creative! That's something I enjoy when drawing maps...you get to add parks/botanical gardens/zoo's/museums/ aquariums/IMAX/planetarium,etc where ever you feel like it  Also a Financial District; Uptown; University; different types of street grids, etc...

I have to say, it is really fun. I especially love drawing the maps then visualizing what each street and building looks like, the cities culture, reputation, and people. it's just really fun. 

 

I'm glad you researched Welthaupstadt, there is so much we just don't know about the Nazi regime. Seeing Hitlers plans for Linz, Hamburg, Nuremberg, Munich, and Berlin puts a different face on the era and Hitler. While his actions truly were ruthless, terrible, and extremely racist, his plans to reshape Germany into the cultural, militaristic, economic, and political capitol of the world showcase the idea that he was an artist that strived for perfection. Kinda makes you feel a tinge bit sorry for the man. Then you remember the Holocaust and that sympathy is gone...

 

I'm assuming that the website you found was this one:http://urbangeofiction.stadtkreation.com/ 

 

If so you will see my Welthaupstadt meets Beauregards Baton Rouge mash-up in their Urban Variations category. I suggest contacting the sites main author, I'm sure he would love to showcase your map. Another site I'm apart of is open Geo-fiction , you can make your own online maps. It takes a bit of time to get used to, but afterwards you get the hang of it and it's super fun. 

[richyb83]

Yes Mr Bernham...that's the website...thanks for the head's up. But I am unable to locate your work.  Sounds interesting!

[Mr. Burnham]

Yes Mr Bernham...that's the website...thanks for the head's up. But I am unable to locate your work.  Sounds interesting!

Oh! I forgot to mention that I'm not finished with it. 

 

Since this thread is a discussion one about various topics and creations I guess I'll try to start a debate on the city flag. Until recently I had not seen this cities flag, but now I'm a bit sorry for seeing it. To me it seems really tacky, especially when compared to that of other cities. As a result I did some city history and came up with a new flag design:

 

 

A little background on the flag: The two blue stripes on the top and bottom are representative of the Mississippi River and the Amite River. These two literally create the city and parish borders and are large influences in the cities history and culture. The white background represents the friendliness and kind people of the city, along with the states catholic background. Lastly, the three red fluer de lis represent the cities connection with Europe, to be specific the three European nations whose flags have waved over the city. The red color not only comes from those nations flags (red is a color they all share), but also from the cities nickname: The Red Stick. 

 

Below is a picture of the current flag for comparison...so what do you guys think? 

[Antrell Williams]

Looks a little bit too similar to the New Orleans flag to me, although I do like their flag.

[dan326]

I agree, it is pretty tacky, but I didn't want to be the first to bring it up.

[BRPJ]

Since the Forum is a lil' slow...wanted to revive a once popular thread by sharing a few of my hand-drawn street maps of fictitious cities...

 

From a few years back...."Palm Island City"

 

A more recent map...not completely finished...city not yet named

Thats so awesome!  I thought I was the only one who did this 

[richyb83]

Appreciate the props BRPJ! There is a few more people drawing these maps than I realized! That would be cool if you could post some of your maps too  That's a smiley we don't see very often...I can dig it! 

 

On the 2nd map not completed yet...I am implementing a riverwalk/narrow waterway thru the open-air Mall/Entertainment District near the Convention Center/Arena/Times Square/Observation Tower meandering thru the Uptown residential district; thru the large Botanical Gardens connecting the High-rise casino hotel(I don't gamble)/ forming a mini-island next to Horse Racing Track along the coast....it's hard to see the waterway in the pic near the top.

 

Thanks for showing the flag Mr Bernham...though similar to the NOLA flag...can appreciate the creativity; using the Amite River as well.