For Jason Buddendorff, the time he spends running around the LSU Lakes not only keeps him in shape but also takes him home.The three-to-four day a week routine is akin to home for the mass communication freshman, who called the lakes “peaceful.”The murky waters bordering the edge of the University provides a recreational locale for the Baton Rouge community — but the lakes are in danger of reverting back to their swamp-like origins, according to Jason Soileau, Facility Development assistant director.The University, along with the city and the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, is seeking funding to prevent the “LSU Lakes” — which have an average depth of 2.65 feet — from becoming increasingly shallow.”The lakes are very shallow,” Soileau said. “If you do nothing to the water, then it’s going to end up reverting back to a swamp. And who wants to recreate near a swamp?”The lakes, which originated from Cypress Tupelo Swamp, first became a part of the University’s culture in the 1930s when the swamps were created under the Works Progress Administration, Soileau said. Faye Phillips, associate dean of libraries, said the swamps initially bordering campus were drained to help rid the area of mosquitoes and to aid in the overall beautification of the campus.”It’s part of the overall landscaping of the campus to make it beautiful,” Phillips said. “[The lakes aimed to] beautify it and also to control the mosquitoes and make sure there weren’t swampy areas.”The project of deepening the lakes would cost more than $20 million and take several years to complete, according to Soileau. The ideal remedy for the swamp — and the one the University, BREC and the city are seeking — would see the lakes deepen by mechanical methods, Soileau said. The soil from the bottom of the lake would be used to create a “linear park” of recreation lands surrounding the lakes. Trickle tubes would be placed in the depths of the lake to filter out sediments and phosphorus.The solution created by mechanical digging would be a permanent one. The lakes would no longer need attention every 20 years, and the option is the most monetarily conservative because it doesn’t involve the hauling of dirt, according to Soileau.The lakes were last deepened in the 1980s, Soileau said. The most quickly disappearing lake is Campus Lake, located between South Stadium Drive and Miller and Herget halls, Soileau said. Soileau said there are plans to put a pedestrian bridge linking residential parking along South Stadium Drive to the residential halls on the opposite side of Campus Lake.Under the same plans, the east side of the lake would be “pristine” water while the west side would be a wetland setting. RECREATIONLaws of bicycle traffic dictate bicyclists must follow the same laws as vehicle traffic, said Mike Richard, Baton Rouge Police Department patrolman. Bicyclists are required to move with the flow of traffic and are also required to stop at all red lights. While Richard said it’s rarely enforced, police officers can write red-light tickets to cyclists.”No one actually enforces it, but it can be written,” Richard said. “The same traffic laws apply.”For pedestrians, Richard said the only laws dictating pedestrian traffic is they are allowed only in crosswalks. Pedestrians are not required to walk on a certain side of the road when using designated walkways.But Richard recommended pedestrians, bikers and motorists exercise caution navigating the portion of Dalrymple Drive between the lakes.”They’ve got a lot of curves,” Richard said. “A [motorist] might not see a bicyclist coming up real quick.”Butler Murrell, operations director of the Bicycle Shop on Highland Road and local bicyclist, said pedestrians should move against the flow of traffic while cyclists should move with the flow of traffic.
Most problems between cyclists and pedestrians occur because the walkers are distracted, according to Murrell.”If there are complaints, it’s typically because someone is not following the rules,” Murrell said. “[Pedestrians are] either having conversations, or they have headphones on and they can’t hear us coming.”Rachelle Graham, University alumna, uses the sidewalk areas surrounding the lakes for recreational purposes about five times per week. While she said she has not had any life-threatening experiences, she has witnessed a few close calls.”There are cars going through the neighborhood, and sometimes they’re dodging people,” Graham said. “Nothing life threatening, but [it] could’ve been had they not reacted as fast as they did. It’s just a beautiful place to walk and run and to ride your bike.”—-Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]