In an area known for its bumper-to-bumper traffic, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation is making plans to remedy the traffic issues on Bluebonnet Blvd. and Essen Lane.
BRAF held a public meeting Nov. 18 to outline ideas for transportation changes in the Essen and Bluebonnet area as a component of its health district plans.
BRAF executive vice president John Spain said the meeting aims to get feedback from people that live and work in the area.
“We talked mostly about transportation, and we outlined for them maybe half a dozen ideas about the extension of certain streets, new streets as a possibility of alternatives to Essen and Bluebonnet that would relieve traffic on those,” Spain said.
BRAF plans to transform Baton Rouge into a healthier community consisting of transportation alternatives, physical activity support, healthy foods, housing options, safety and social activity support.
BRAF’s presentation compared the proposed health district to a patient with numerous steps: diagnosis, vision, prescription and follow-up.
The diagnosis: BRAF has found the Essen and Bluebonnet area to have an ineffective transportation network, large, auto-oriented blocks, inaccessible natural environments and uncoordinated sprawling developments.
In the plan, BRAF hopes to enable safe pedestrian and bike movement in the health district area as well as better connect the community to nature through a multi-use trail network. New district parks will serve students and residents alike.
With these proposed changes, BRAF envisions a balanced community that is safe and accessible for its citizens.
The expansion of the health district will include mixed-use development, like restaurants, medical offices and stores. The housing options nearby in the area will grow to include townhomes, employee apartments, campus residences and senior housing.
This area of Baton Rouge is known for having the worst traffic congestion in the city, Spain said. He expects the conditions to worsen as Baton Rouge General Medical Hospital expands its Bluebonnet location and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center possibly builds a separate children’s hospital.
“You can assume that if it’s bad today, it’s only going to get worse because there’s going to be a lot of activity and new buildings, and that’s going to attract more people,” said Spain.
To combat this problem, Spain said people can either change their driving schedules or adjust the transportation structure.
Spain said BRAF proposes to add new streets, extend some streets and finish other streets to allow more capacity and take pressure off existing ones. BRAF designed numerous street options, including new railroad crossings.
These designs adapt as BRAF receives insight from the community and stakeholders.
To see these plans come to fruition, Spain said BRAF will compile the comments from its public meeting, make final recommendations to the stakeholders and public in January or February and then submit the ideas to the city.