End of Summer Newsletter
Hey folks!
First off, we hope you and your loved ones are well. 2020 has been a difficult year for many, many reasons. Though Bike BR had to cancel all our events since March, we are still busy and we still need your support. For all the terrible things that have happened this year, 2020 has been a very positive year for bike riding in Baton Rouge. Bike Riding is experiencing a major spike in popularity. And this popularity is turning into real, positive, on-the-ground change!
Infrastructure Updates
The Government Street road diet has some bike lanes in place already - between St. Rose Ave near the Front Yard Bikes bike shop and Moore Street (by Square 46). Bike lanes between Jefferson Hwy and Lobdell are being worked on as we speak. The last phase - I-110 to St. Rose Ave is scheduled to be complete by year’s end.
The Levee Path is complete! Well… not 100% just yet. There are small sections that need a bit of work, but the entire path is paved and rideable! Starting at the path’s end by the Hollywood Casino, you can bike along the river all the way to L’Auberge Casino, which is just over 13 miiles! This has been a long time coming and we’re very excited. Look for a Bike BR ride to celebrate its opening soon.
There is a new protected bike lane on St. Gerard Street, which is by Cristo Rey school, by Tony’s Seafood. Bike lanes on the other side of the school (St. Katherine Street) will be striped in the coming months as well. By the way, St. Gerard is only the 2nd street north of Florida Blvd in the city limits to have bike lanes. We’re hoping for many more in the coming years.
The Ward Creek path - due to some weather and geological issues, the missing segment between Bluebonnet and Constantin Blvd (by the new Children’s Hospital) has been temporarily delayed. We’re told work will commence within the coming months. Once complete, people will be able to bike from Essen past Siegen Lane without ever having to deal with automobile traffic!
The Downtown Greenway will have new spurs by late 2020 (perhaps early 2021) which will connect Spanish Town Rd with North Blvd along 6th and 8th Streets by using buffered bike lanes.
Mayoral Election
Though Bike BR will never tell anyone who to vote for, we will do our best to see where candidates stand on the issues and inform our members and the general public. To that end, Bike BR will be submitting a questionnaire to the mayoral candidates, which will be comprised of questions our members want to have answered. To submit questions, click the button below. The most common questions/themes will become our questionnaire, which we will submit to each candidate, then publish their responses. Please have your questions submitted by 9/30/2020.
MOVEBR
Much of the success of the Pedestrian/Bicycle Master Plan that was adopted earlier this year will depend on how the projects in the MOVEBR program are implemented. Though there is money set aside for some specific ped/bike projects (such as the 72nd Street sidewalks) the overwhelming bulk of project funds will go towards “capacity” projects. However, Bike BR and other partners have worked hard to make sure these project design standards adhere to the Complete Streets policy and the Americans with Disabilities Act, thereby taking into account into account ALL road users during the design and planning phases. That’s where you come in…
Public meetings will be held in advance of all projects. The input collected before and during these meetings will be used to inform the design and planning process. It’s IMPERATIVE that we have our people there to make sure they’re accommodating people who walk, bike and use mobility aids. So please, sign up for the MOVEBR email notifications so you can be involved in the process:
In the meantime, you can take a look at each project’s “concept reports.”. These are not necessarily the final designs of each project, only possibilities based on the design guidelines that will be used. Please stay involved and make your voice heard. You can bet that people who DO NOT want any bicycle or pedestrian accommodations will be making their voices heard. They always do.
Coastal Land Loss Bike Tour
If you’re interested in how coastal land loss is affecting Louisiana (and you really should be), check out this guided tour created by our friends at the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. This is a really cool thing. By using the Voicemap app on your smartphone, you can listen while you ride! Click the button below for more info.
