Another one moving to Baton Rouge! (Hammond, Abbeville: university, casino, living)

[darylwi]

I'm hoping the new Perkins widening will help a lot. It seems the Old Hammond widening between Airline and past Sherwood has helped a lot. Many people use that road, maybe not quite to the limit as Perkins. But it has helped a lot.
Except right between College and Acadian, I rarely have problems driving on Perkins between College and Essen (5 lanes). So hears hoping for the Perkins expansion to help.
There does need to be a major reconstruction of the Perkins/Bluebonnet intersection however. Even with little traffic, the road surface is horrible.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by darylwi

I'm hoping the new Perkins widening will help a lot. It seems the Old Hammond widening between Airline and past Sherwood has helped a lot. Many people use that road, maybe not quite to the limit as Perkins. But it has helped a lot.
Except right between College and Acadian, I rarely have problems driving on Perkins between College and Essen (5 lanes). So hears hoping for the Perkins expansion to help.
There does need to be a major reconstruction of the Perkins/Bluebonnet intersection however. Even with little traffic, the road surface is horrible.

Remember the bad old days when Old Hammond was only 4 laned from Jefferson to Airline and it ended at Old Hammond ? Or when there was a dog leg from Sherwood to Siegen ? It's amazing how much worse the infrastructure was then.

And, yes, I hope the Perkins widening helps. It's a nightmare getting out of Southside Produce on weekends.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by CindyM

That whole Bluebonnet/Perkins Rowe area is a traffic nightmare! And I really don't think the much-delayed widening of Perkins is going to change things. BR is famous for doing things ass backwards. I have no idea about drainage issues in that area. I do know the homeowners in the subdivision that backs up to Perkins Rowe (Wimbledon) were treated with much disregard by Spinosa. I'd hate to be one of the homeowners in the area surrounding Rouzan, knowing his track record.

Bluebonnet is a traffic nightmare - I don't argue with you there. But I think Perkins Rowe is a great concept. Plus, I recall Wimbledonites complaining (and blocking) about the radical idea of putting connecting streets in from the new subdivision they're building across from Iberville Terrace. NIMBYism at its best.

I know this "back and forth" can be percevied as nitpicking from those reading this on casual glance; I'm merely pointing out that the NIMBY attitide is pervasive here in BR. As is a lack of "guidance" from the city with regards to planned growth. Which taken together isn't good for future economic development.

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by BRMan

...I'm merely pointing out that the NIMBY attitide is pervasive here in BR. As is a lack of "guidance" from the city with regards to planned growth. Which taken together isn't good for future economic development.

You are right about that. The NIMBYs and the lack of a real city planner have deprived this city of an effective transportation grid.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by darylwi

You are right about that. The NIMBYs and the lack of a real city planner have deprived this city of an effective transportation grid.

And it doesn't have to be that way. The Goodwood/Claycut corridor is well designed with a decent grid pattern, especially around Broadmoor/Sherwood Forest.

By contrast, the Highland/Perkins corridor is awful. As a perfect example of this poor planning, you have THREE sections of Hyacinth, Boone, and Menlo that don't connect. And two sections of Oak Hills Parkway.

[CindyM]

Originally Posted by darylwi

I'm hoping the new Perkins widening will help a lot. It seems the Old Hammond widening between Airline and past Sherwood has helped a lot. Many people use that road, maybe not quite to the limit as Perkins. But it has helped a lot.
Except right between College and Acadian, I rarely have problems driving on Perkins between College and Essen (5 lanes). So hears hoping for the Perkins expansion to help.
There does need to be a major reconstruction of the Perkins/Bluebonnet intersection however. Even with little traffic, the road surface is horrible.

That stretch of Old Hammond doesn't begin to compare to Perkins Rd. And you must hit other areas of Perkins at just the right time to avoid traffic delays. When we moved to Southdowns Perkins was only 2 lane. Now it's 4 lane and still a mess.

[CindyM]

Originally Posted by BRMan

Bluebonnet is a traffic nightmare - I don't argue with you there. But I think Perkins Rowe is a great concept. Plus, I recall Wimbledonites complaining (and blocking) about the radical idea of putting connecting streets in from the new subdivision they're building across from Iberville Terrace. NIMBYism at its best.

I know this "back and forth" can be percevied as nitpicking from those reading this on casual glance; I'm merely pointing out that the NIMBY attitide is pervasive here in BR. As is a lack of "guidance" from the city with regards to planned growth. Which taken together isn't good for future economic development.

I'm not denying the need for change in BR. And I hope Perkins Rowe is a success. I was simply pointing out Spinosa's lack of consideration for his neighbors bordering the development.

It's like Wampold's Crescent at University Lake. He totally screwed up Stanford for his own selfish interest. Have you driven by there lately? Talk about a mess and it's only going to get worse when people begin moving in. And look out next football season! It would appear if you're a wealthy developer (is that an oxymoron?) in BR you can do whatever the hell you please.

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by CindyM

That stretch of Old Hammond doesn't begin to compare to Perkins Rd. And you must hit other areas of Perkins at just the right time to avoid traffic delays. When we moved to Southdowns Perkins was only 2 lane. Now it's 4 lane and still a mess.

Then why don't we 8-lane it? Or even better, let's put up a wall around Southdowns and give it it's own (single) entrance and exit ramp from I-10. Let's elevate Stanford and Lee so that they never have to touch one foot in Southdowns. Will that solve all of your problems?

I'll answer that.

NO!

Now... What do you propose?

[CindyM]

Originally Posted by darylwi

Then why don't we 8-lane it? Or even better, let's put up a wall around Southdowns and give it it's own (single) entrance and exit ramp from I-10. Let's elevate Stanford and Lee so that they never have to touch one foot in Southdowns. Will that solve all of your problems?

I'll answer that.

NO!

Now... What do you propose?

Daryl, just stating facts. Confused by your comments. We've been in SD for 26 years. Both my dh & I grew up in traditional neighborhoods in the northeast and midwest. That was part of the appeal of SD. The SW is a popular area of BR, but the growth has continued unchecked since we moved in. The traffic nightmare is only getting worse. That was my point. What was yours?

[darylwi]

You are right. Unchecked growth, with poor planning (including traffic) doesn't help our current problems at all. Most of the major streets in the city, let along south BR are actually designed to handle the capacity. The most problems come from poorly designed intersections and poor traffic light synchronization. There is an update coming to the intersection of Acadian & Perkins. Hopefully that helps a little more.
I will say that I have never met a group of people as Southdowners who are so quick to complain about every little thing that goes on anywhere near their neighborhood but never appear to offer any kind of solutions to anything. With them, it literally is, "Not In My Back Yard, Not on My Watch, I Don't Want Anything to Change, Ever". I could understand if Pinnacle was trying to build a land casino there, but we're talking about a replacement WalMart when the old one previously existed just down the road, road construction to adjust intersections, raising the interstate over Perkins to widen it but it would open up room and brighten the area near the Overpass, and of course TNDs. It just appears that with Southdowns, you can't win. And by all means, they aren't the only ones, but they sure do appear to be the best (or "worst" depending on your POV).