Can the Greenway improve struggling neighborhoods?

Expressway Park sits in the shadow of the I-10/I-110 split, with the rumble of traffic echoing off the huge concrete pilings that separate the busy interstate above from the inner-city green space below. The South Baton Rouge Jaguars youth football team often practices on a field here, between the overpass bridges. At night, the interstate lighting high above isn’t enough to illuminate the practice field, so parents of the young players use the headlights of their vehicles to keep evening practices going.

Nearby residents have asked BREC for years to install better and safer lighting at the park. During a public workshop last week, BREC officials reiterated a logistical problem they and DOTD have struggled with—that any lighting on the ground level between spans of the overpass could affect visibility for vehicles traveling on the interstate above.

That public workshop was the first in a three-day series meant to gather input on the proposed Downtown Greenway, culminating in a presentation last Thursday at the Old State Capitol that translated those ideas into a final design proposal (more on that later).

Expressway Park was the perfect place to start, as it seems to have the most to gain from the proposed 2.75-mile path that will link several parks in the vicinity of downtown. Greenway planners envision it as one of several nodes, or focal points, of the route, complete with bike racks, public spaces and other facilities. At the meeting, BREC officials said they currently have about $70,000 lined up for basic improvements to Expressway Park, including upgrading the recreation center on 11th Street. And while community members in attendance, including Councilmember Tara Wicker, noted that would likely not be enough, Davis Rhorer of Downtown Development District explained that his organization would be able to help procure more funding.

Both Rhorer and Elizabeth Mossop, of urban design firm Spackman Mossop and Michaels—which is leading the design phase of the project—hope interest in the Greenway will help light a fire under BREC. “The Greenway is already a catalyst for BREC to look at ways of upgrading their facilities,” Mossop said.

A community member at the Expressway Park meeting said the path, its accompanying beautification and greenery, would be welcomed, but what about the neighborhood that surrounds it? Would its dilapidated streets, which flood easily, and abandoned lots and homes be improved as well? Or would the pathway be just a strip of landscaped greenery cutting through an otherwise bleak and marginalized area?

Rhorer was quick to point out that the Greenway would likely spur growth and help attract developers to Old South Baton Rouge, as well as increase property values.

In stories about this project on local news sites, commenters have predictably balked at the idea of biking or walking through seedy areas of Old South. Still, research has shown that when you improve or create new green space and parks, you make the surrounding neighborhoods safer (see here) and neighbors have more opportunities to socialize and monitor activity around them.

And as members of Bike Baton Rouge mentioned during a few meetings, bike paths bring and increase business nearby. Check out this story, which goes into more detail about it, and also includes this bit of info: “Those new bike facilities aren’t just good for the bottom line of adjacent businesses—they’re also good for nearby property owners, who see their property values rise. A home near Indianapolis’ Monon trail is worth 11 percent more than a home a half mile away.”

All that to say there are a lot of benefits to a project like this, and planners seem interested in it serving as a catalyst for linking and improving disconnected neighborhoods, but I can understand some neighbors’ worries that this portion of the Greenway might just be a cut-through to more upscale areas. I’m hoping last week’s public input sessions aren’t the last opportunities for residents around Expressway Park to contribute.

But where can I park?

The Expressway Park residents weren’t the only folks voicing concerns. Residents along East Boulevard, business owners along Seventh Street, and Spanish Town residents all spoke up throughout the week—mostly about on-street parking.

To their credit, the design team at Spackman Mossop and Michaels worked at the speed of fancy design software to translate most of the input into a revamped version of the Greenway proposal that was unveiled on the last night of the workshops.

The resulting designs weren’t a huge change from the original route, which took bicyclists and pedestrians from City Park to the I-10 overpass via Louise Street and ran under the interstate up to North Boulevard where it connected to Seventh Street and traveled north to Arsenal Park and BREC’s Memorial Sports Complex. (Confused? You can see the route here.)

The newest iteration’s big shift is that the Greenway emerges from underneath the overpass at Expressway Park, jumping over to East Boulevard and straddling the median there until it approaches North Boulevard, thus bypassing the onramps and off-ramps that snake underneath I-110. The route does a strange little detour then, swinging underneath the interstate (along the same one-way road that connects East Boulevard to 10th Street) and joins North Boulevard on the east side of the interstate before following it west under the interstate again toward Seventh Street.

Even more confused? Well, that updated map isn’t available yet online, as far as I can tell. So I drew it:

View Downtown Greenway updated proposed route in a larger map

Mossop showed off illustrative examples of how the new Greenway plan addresses parking. Residents along East Boulevard want to maintain on-street parking, so the trail will sit in the middle of an updated and landscaped median. Patrons of First United Methodist Church want to keep the ample parking lots underneath the interstate at North Boulevard, so the route will mostly keep that intact, with opportunities for commercial spaces, small parks and secure bike lockers under the overpass. Spanish Town neighbors were concerned about losing on-street parking and sidewalks along their Seventh Street stretch of the path, so consultants proposed a shared roadway for bikes and the one-way motorist traffic.

The only potential controversy is the two-way stretch of Seventh Street between North Boulevard and North Street, where business owners worried they’d lose on-street parking to make way for a biking lane. They will, according to the consultants’ proposal, with bike lanes and landscaping lining either side of the two-way street. Mossop explained that on-street parallel parking there wasn’t heavily used and many businesses along that stretch already had large parking lots that could accommodate the loss.

Many in attendance, including members of Bike Baton Rouge, seemed pleased with the overall design and were ready to help get the project moving. There are still plenty of logistical obstacles for DDD and others to work through, and the design firm won’t have a final design plan up for approval until this summer. But the possibilities of the Greenway project are exciting, pushing us closer to a fully realized network of pathways in the city—from the levee path to City Park and elsewhere.

And with about 40,000 people living within a mile of the route, you can bet it’s going to change the way we see and get around the core of Baton Rouge.