Baton Rouge? (New Orleans, Shreveport, Washington: live, zoning, restaurant)
Baton RougeMetro area
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I don't understand your logic. Again, no one is trying to change the suburbs or suburban parts of the city. And you mentioned crime in inner city, you mentioned change as well, with positive investment, crime diminishes.
Just because YOU live in an auto-centric part of the city doesn't mean they want to change your neighborhood. An unrealistic amount of capital would have to be invested to make Glen Oaks (for example) walkable or your part of town.
So why do people like you continue to chastise BR for not being walkable if it would be such a stupid investment to make a majority of the city walkable? The city core is already reasonably walkable. It's certainly not the best but definitely possible to safely walk to many places.
So why do people like you continue to chastise BR for not being walkable if it would be such a stupid investment to make a majority of the city walkable? The city core is already reasonably walkable. It's certainly not the best but definitely possible to safely walk to many places.
This person doesn't even live in Baton Rouge. I wouldn't worry about what he/she thinks. Funny, do any Baton Rouge residents go to other city forums and complain? Or do they just come here?
I don't know of any Baton Rouge folks that are hanging out in the N.O. thread on a regular basis , pointing out all of the things that are wrong there . Well , maybe one particular knucklehead that just comes here to fight anyway . If you don't live in B.R. , but never miss an opportunity to come here and bash it , you're a troll in my book . If that offends you , so be it .
It's a discussion forum, people can discuss what they want where they want as long as it within the rules. New Orleans and many other cities are brought up on the National board here all the time and for every good comment there is one much worse than most of the crap said in this Baton Rouge forum and you don't see people on the New Orleans forum having a cow. Same for every other city brought up on City-Data. To be honest whenever Baton Rouge is brought up on the national forum posters from New Orleans are the ones defending it along with the help of MetroBTR, hdwell, and some others. I can also name 1 or 2 Baton Rouge posters who do the opposite so that BR posters don't go here and do blah, doesn't cut it.
On that note I'm not condoning trolling or am I defending it regardless of where a poster is from, but it comes as if you're painting with a broad brush.
Quote:
Originally Posted by trafficsucks
This person doesn't even live in Baton Rouge. I wouldn't worry about what he/she thinks. Funny, do any Baton Rouge residents go to other city forums and complain? Or do they just come here?
Where Baton Rouge posters go and post is all on them. They have the oppurtunity to do as they feel just like everyone else.
1. I find Baton Rouge to be incredibly stagnant. There are 2 definitions to stagnant. The traditional one is that it has not improved since a previous period of time. That's the definition you are using. Obviously it has improved technologically and racially since the 1960s.
The other definition of stagnant is when you use it in comparison to other similar sized locales in the US. It's impossible to compare BR to NYC, LA, or Chicago. But BR can easily be compared to Sacramento, Nashville, and I find a lot of people from BR compare it to Austin.
BR has a road network that mimics the 1930's Dust Bowl. The utility systems are circa the Tennesee Valley Authority 1960; every time it thundered it seemed the power went out. The sewer system reeks. Compare to Sacramento, Nashville, and Austin. Then look at the lack of a cohesive downtown, public transit, jobs.
BR was the leader per capita in job creation. What they don't tell you is that Louisiana ranked 49th for jobs that require skills. Translation: Almost 50% of the jobs in Louisiana, largely created by BR, are minimum wage with no real promotional advancement opportunities.
There is perhaps a 3rd definition of stagnant. The lack of change regarding one's lifestyle. BR is a great place if you enjoy doing the same things week after week year after year. LSU football immediately comes to mind. People have done the same thing every Saturday (tailgate AM, tailgate afternoon, game PM) in the Fall for their entire lives.
There isn't much going on outside LSU and numerous outdoor activities. Other than LSU football 8 weeks a year, there isn't much in the way of actual sales tax producing things for people to spend their money on. There's no major upscale shopping centers where people can walk around, eat, drink, have fun. Check out the Grove in West Hollywood, CA.
2. BR does have character. But it is one character. LSU football, hunting, fishing, outdoor stuff. I noticed a lot of people who grew up in small towns love BR because to them it's a big city. But again, compare to similarly sized locales, it doesn't offer much.
For population, obviously greater BRs population has increased. Katrina. The city hasn't really grown at all. You aren't bringing in a lot of capital from other states or regions.
3. Vision: There is vision from many different groups, but nothing ever gets done. The proposal to build shops and restaurants and upscale type things up and down Nicholson between LSU and Downtown was shuttered. The roads would have been repaved, a trolley built, and tons of good jobs and tax revenue would flow in each year. REJECTED.
The downtown project. REJECTED.
The other part of the proposal to resurface roads, actually sync traffic lights (again very 1950s era not to have these), would have saved residents in the long run because they wouldn't be burning gas sitting at traffic lights forever and driving on almost gravel. REJECTED.
Instead, the community chose to focus on screaming about how gays/lesbians shouldn't be treated equally in BR.
First of all, alot of jobs that just about anyone can qualify for pay pretty well. A man working in many industries can make a very solid living
despite not having a degree, or "skills". A little on the job training and he's off. Besides, even if someone has to take a low paying job at a retail store or restaurant, it is a hell of alot better than not being able to find a job at all, such as is the case in many parts of the midwest. Ignore the all the new investment and plans and infrastructure improvements in the city, go ahead and do it if you must. But one can't help but notice how many streets are being temporarily shut down lately so that the city can complete sewer or utility upgrades.
Wow are you ignorant. All we do is tailgate??? Are you freaking serious? What a dumb comment. In case you haven't noticed, half of the city roots for a cross-town team. Typical case of somebody who assumes a city has nothing to offer. Do I tailgate? Yes. So what? I, and alot of people, enjoy it. Big deal? How does that make us stagnant. I won't speak for everyone else but I also enjoy concerts, plays, trying original new restaurants, parties, other social events, and area museums. And you fogot a big one for people here...Mardi Gras. Doesn't sound stagnant to me. Sounds like a group of people who really like to enjoy themselves as opposed to sitting at home in the evening watching the wheel like in other Bible Belt towns.
Again, why is it a problem that many people in BR enjoy things like LSU football, hunting, fishing, and outdoor stuff? That's a part of our culture for alot of people, just like it is in the culture of alot of Southern cities this size. But just because that is the obvious dominant culture doesn't mean that is the only culture. I really don't think you are exploring enough. I think you have resigned yourself to the point of view that BR has little if anything to offer you.
Nobody is moving here? You must've missed every other thread on BR CD that is started by somebody from out of state looking for info on the city because they are moving here. Will some of them leave dissappointed? Probably. I'll bet Pierre Part's own Troy Landry would leave WeHo disappointed, but that doesn't make it a lousy place. There will also be people who move here and love it, such as our fellow poster, Caa. Obviously it is all in the eye of the beholder. What seems lousy to you might seem enticing to someone else. Until the stagnation police breaks down my door and tells me otherwise, I will believe that BR is thriving city.
And just so you know, the projects on Nicholson are not shuttered. They are very much in the works. Some of them have already come to fruition (i.e. Fieldhouse). Yep. And how abou that Green Light Plan, which involved taxes, which were voted on and approved by the "community". The tax package that Kip Holden put to the ballot last year failed because he stupidly included the mysterious "Alive Project," which never should have been put together with infrastructure projects. In case you didn't study that vote very carefully, the opposition voted it down only by the skin of their teeth. Most cited concerns about the Alive project, mainly because they were not given enough information about the project, which would have eaten up a huge chunk of the tax package. Also, there were numerous land ownership issues with the railroad (Railroad companies are notoriously hard to deal with). Almost nobody spoke out agains the infrastructure improvements that would have come along with the tax package, but they simply couldn't accept it without knowing more about Alive. Sounds rational to me. I mean, we did pass the Green Light Plan, which required more taxes. Also, GLP synchronized traffic signals downtown. Sounds like a good start in creating a cohesive downtown. Also helping downtown is the huge Town Square project under construction. Doesn't seem like a stagnant core to me. But that's just one man's opinion.
Who said anything about New Orleans ? You guys are too easy .
New Orleans catches hell and is generalized/stereotyped all the time on City-Data forums and outside of fact checking and the occasional debate the N.O. posters keep it moving. Come here and bring up something that's actually true and a handful of you all spring into action. Who's easier?
First of all, alot of jobs that just about anyone can qualify for pay pretty well. A man working in many industries can make a very solid living
despite not having a degree, or "skills". A little on the job training and he's off. Besides, even if someone has to take a low paying job at a retail store or restaurant, it is a hell of alot better than not being able to find a job at all, such as is the case in many parts of the midwest. Ignore the all the new investment and plans and infrastructure improvements in the city, go ahead and do it if you must. But one can't help but notice how many streets are being temporarily shut down lately so that the city can complete sewer or utility upgrades.
Wow are you ignorant. All we do is tailgate??? Are you freaking serious? What a dumb comment. In case you haven't noticed, half of the city roots for a cross-town team. Typical case of somebody who assumes a city has nothing to offer. Do I tailgate? Yes. So what? I, and alot of people, enjoy it. Big deal? How does that make us stagnant. I won't speak for everyone else but I also enjoy concerts, plays, trying original new restaurants, parties, other social events, and area museums. And you fogot a big one for people here...Mardi Gras. Doesn't sound stagnant to me. Sounds like a group of people who really like to enjoy themselves as opposed to sitting at home in the evening watching the wheel like in other Bible Belt towns.
Again, why is it a problem that many people in BR enjoy things like LSU football, hunting, fishing, and outdoor stuff? That's a part of our culture for alot of people, just like it is in the culture of alot of Southern cities this size. But just because that is the obvious dominant culture doesn't mean that is the only culture. I really don't think you are exploring enough. I think you have resigned yourself to the point of view that BR has little if anything to offer you.
Nobody is moving here? You must've missed every other thread on BR CD that is started by somebody from out of state looking for info on the city because they are moving here. Will some of them leave dissappointed? Probably. I'll bet Pierre Part's own Troy Landry would leave WeHo disappointed, but that doesn't make it a lousy place. There will also be people who move here and love it, such as our fellow poster, Caa. Obviously it is all in the eye of the beholder. What seems lousy to you might seem enticing to someone else. Until the stagnation police breaks down my door and tells me otherwise, I will believe that BR is thriving city.
And just so you know, the projects on Nicholson are not shuttered. They are very much in the works. Some of them have already come to fruition (i.e. Fieldhouse). Yep. And how abou that Green Light Plan, which involved taxes, which were voted on and approved by the "community". The tax package that Kip Holden put to the ballot last year failed because he stupidly included the mysterious "Alive Project," which never should have been put together with infrastructure projects. In case you didn't study that vote very carefully, the opposition voted it down only by the skin of their teeth. Most cited concerns about the Alive project, mainly because they were not given enough information about the project, which would have eaten up a huge chunk of the tax package. Also, there were numerous land ownership issues with the railroad (Railroad companies are notoriously hard to deal with). Almost nobody spoke out agains the infrastructure improvements that would have come along with the tax package, but they simply couldn't accept it without knowing more about Alive. Sounds rational to me. I mean, we did pass the Green Light Plan, which required more taxes. Also, GLP synchronized traffic signals downtown. Sounds like a good start in creating a cohesive downtown. Also helping downtown is the huge Town Square project under construction. Doesn't seem like a stagnant core to me. But that's just one man's opinion.
You have to remember the person you're arguing with has claimed that traffic is so bad that he sits at a single Baton Rouge red light for 15 minutes. So, yeah.
WestbankNOLA, please stop trolling this forum. This forum is for Baton Rouge residents not "once-great cities that see their population and economy shrinking".
Silly me, I forgot that this forum is only big enough for one troll. Sorry for taking your spotlight.
So why do people like you continue to chastise BR for not being walkable if it would be such a stupid investment to make a majority of the city walkable? The city core is already reasonably walkable. It's certainly not the best but definitely possible to safely walk to many places.
Hold your horses. It's not about making somewhere walkable, it's about taking advantage of neighborhoods that have potential to be lively and increase foot traffic. You can't make a neighborhood "walkable" by just installing sidewalks and crosswalks, people need things to walk to, and a reason to walk versus drive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by trafficsucks
This person doesn't even live in Baton Rouge. I wouldn't worry about what he/she thinks. Funny, do any Baton Rouge residents go to other city forums and complain? Or do they just come here?
Sure, if they have actually lived more than one state. I wouldn't complain about something I know isn't true. Or if they might happen to care about the city they are from. But what do I know? I don't live in Baton Rouge..
What is your beef with me, grow up young man.
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