Stuck in traffic

Baton Rouge’s traffic congestion continues to be a constant source of irritation and wasted gas, and this holiday season will be a nightmare.

Not only Interstates 10 and 12, but many roads are now sluggish throughout the day, and even worse during commute hours. It seems like I’m spending more time with my foot on the brake than on the gas.

I don’t know if much can be done to speed up the region’s travel times. Opposing theories have been discussed and debated for the past 10 years, but none have eased our commutes. One end of the spectrum is to stop funding road enhancements altogether, focusing solely on alternative transportation methods such as bus lines or light rail. (I don’t think I’ll see this in my lifetime here). Baton Rouge seems to be a “car town.”

At the opposite end is continuing to expand lanes and possibly build a loop. We are all growing old talking about the loop—and no one does anything. And while the mayor’s Green Light plan is a sign of progress with new roads, it only brings us to the 20th century—we’re already in the 21st.

Fact is, much of our problem is due to lack of vision, the politics of planning, and schools. We have too often allowed for variances, and we failed to require developers to tie into the street grid. One-entrance subdivisions may be preferred for safety, but they cause traffic jams.

In addition, we have created doglegs and streets that fail to align. For the past 20 years, problems with our public schools have sent tens of thousands of families to Livingston and Ascension. We pay for that sprawl every morning and afternoon with gridlocked interstates, which serve as our virtual Main Street, despite being interstate highways.

On top of this, our past mayors have blamed our local legislative delegation for not getting enough state dollars for roads. The lawmakers, meanwhile, blamed mayors Tom Ed McHugh and Bobby Simpson for failing to set priorities and not having a plan to present. In the meantime, nada happens, and we wait in traffic.

With our population growth and Baton Rouge being Louisiana’s largest city, something must be done now. We need more state support and better planning decisions. We need more infill development to bring residents back to the city.

Think you have a better solution? Share it with me. E-mail me at [email protected].

What were they thinking?

This month, 225 takes a light-hearted look back at the weird, absurd and stranger-than-fiction news that made this year so interesting.

While the world’s attention centers on bringing New Orleans and southwest Louisiana back to life, it was business as usual for our elected officials, law enforcement officials, local celebrities, crooks and generally ill-advised citizens right here in our own backyard.

A Tiger Stadium streaker nearly prosecuted as a sex criminal. The Congressman with cash in his freezer. The rock festival that fizzled before it started. Some of it’s so depressing all you can do is laugh.

Which is where “The Year in Blunders” comes in, an entertaining walk through 2006 with 225 tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Mindless stuff

Now that we’re in the heart of the holiday season and because most of us will be spending lots of time attending parties, holiday dinners and family gatherings around the table adding more calories to our already-saturated bodies, I want to recommend a new book, Mindless Eating, by Brain Wansink. The book’s underlining theme is based on a couple of key points. One is that the amount of food we eat is usually not determined by how full we are, but by how much food is put in front of us. Also, we usually underestimate how much food we’ve eaten. The opening story on stale popcorn is worth the price of the book. As one who loves to eat and one who needs to lose 10 pounds, I’m going to try to follow some of his advice—probably after the holiday season. Ha!