Just got back from SW Louisiana and here are some thoughts...

[edesign]

True...if you give yourself ample space between you and the car in front of you you're fine. The problem is someone will change lanes in to that spot causing you to drop back further, which may wind up repeating the situation until you are 5-6 cars back from where you were lol...OR, the person behind you will not give ample room because they don't want people cutting in, want you to go faster even though you have 20 cars in front of you, or they're just stupid (hard to differentiate what their motive is). Buy some tires with good grip and you'll be ok, not necessarily rain-specialized tires but some good performance tires.

md...if you got the sense that Lafayette traffic can become congested you are right, and congested is an understatement depending on the road, conditions, and if any accidents are involved. The BIG problem with Lafayette's road system is that if an accident occurs there are normally no detours for traffic to take without going a good distance out of your way. When this happens it can be frustrating.

I too have driven in at least 22 states (been in 26 of them plus a few provinces in Canada) and LA's are the worst...I haven't driven on the east coast or in California though. I barely caught the NE corner of NM coming up here, maybe I'll make a trip to Santa Fe when I get back on my feet and compare the drivers there to Lafayette I believe the big problem with Lafayette's drivers is that the congestion causes them to do things they wouldn't normally do if traffic actually flowed. A city that size should NOT have the congestion that it does. Heck, the traffic here flows better at rush hour than it does down there lol.

Also, I don't have much experience with this in other states save for Colorado (been too long since I've driven in Alaska so I'll leave it out)...but when there is road construction and the signs are posted a half mile in advance (or more) that one of the lanes is closed people will stay in the lane to be closed until the last second and try to cut in to the other lane at the last second. The people at the front in the open lane will sit there and let all these people in while the others behind them who followed directions are forced to wait...and wait...and wait. There are a few choices here...be one of the jerks who cuts in at the front or be one of the nice people who doesn't allow them in when you get to the front They may try to muscle their way in but I've never found any who wanted to risk actually hitting my car...even with larger truck or SUV but boy they sure get mad Now when I moved here I was utterly amazed that people did the exact opposite and moved over long before the lane ended

Btw, might want to make a map of where the red light cameras are and be aware that they have speed vans like AZ does (and probably NM). I know they are putting up a few more along Ambassador Caffery. People like to run red lights in Lafayette but the time between that light turning red and the other light turning green is usually very very short...plenty of accidents caused by this. I am impressed with the traffic lights here...the yellows are decently long in most places I have been allowing ample time to stop (people still run reds but not as much as I am used to seeing...i.e., 2-3 cars after the light is red) and there is about a two second delay from the next light turning green so even if someone does run a red light nobody else should be in the intersection. Oh, the pedestrian cross-walk timers make a handy tool to gauge how long before the light turns yellow if you have good enough vision to make out the numbers. Seattle had these too and I thought it was awesome even if it wasn't the intended use lol.

Humidity...it was interesting to me at first as well coming from an arid part of Alaska but the novelty quickly wore off lol. The heat never really bothered me (I am fair skinned due to my northern European heritage so I do burn easy though) it was just the incessant humidity that is inescapable outdoors. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hide in my home all the time...I spent plenty of time outdoors but even in the shade there wasn't much relief lol.

You really don't have to worry about the cops pulling you over to give you a ticket, that's basically been relegated to the Red Flex cameras and vans. I've seen more people pulled over here since I moved at the beginning of March than in my eleven years down there TOTAL (maybe a [b]slight[b] exaggeration, but not much). Most of those that were pulled over were in the smaller outlying towns or on the interstates. Watch the cops along I-10 from the TX/LA border east...they're not so "bad" on I-49 between Lafayette and Opelousas but north of that you need to be a bit more careful.

If you do move to Lafayette I hope you enjoy it...aside from the traffic problems it's a pretty nice town. Almost always some festival of sorts going on either in town or within a 30 minute drive and excellent food. People are pretty friendly too...not the friendliest I've ever encountered in my travels but for a city that size they're pretty nice

[Innotech]

Lafayettes main problems stem from growing pains. It is booming at rate that it wast really ever designed to grow. While this is absolutely great for business, it leaves us a very small window to improve our roads before things get more back to normal and Lafayette really takes off with all the new development going on.
Regarding the lane change, right now there is a lane closed right after the ambassador Walmart. This creates the problem where you pull out of the walmart lot, but since the outer lane is closed, you have to get into the open lane. It is usually clogged with aforementioned traffic, so you have to first get into the closed lane, just to have a shot at getting into the open one. You cant just pull directly into the open one.
Lafayette does have some plans in place to ease traffic flow, but again, Im not sure if its to little too late. They have to do SOMETHING though. and fast.

[edesign]

Originally Posted by Innotech

Lafayette does have some plans in place to ease traffic flow, but again, Im not sure if its to little too late. They have to do SOMETHING though. and fast.

You are absolutely right, unfortunately I don't see them catching up in the next twenty years or so...not unless the growth is stifled and the funds are still available to create the needed improvements. I know they are trying but I have to agree it is too little, too late. The roundabout that they put on Ridge Road south of Ambassador helped traffic immensely in that area. I'm not sure how much of an impact the extension of Eraste Landry from Ambassador to whatever the road is (Westgate?) has had on traffic problems, never really travelled that road in that direction.

The city is in DESPERATE need of some kind of business loop but the cost and time needed for it, not to mention the property, are not something the people of Lafayette will support as a majority. Camellia Blvd. was a much needed crossing between Johnston and Kaliste Saloom but the traffic congestion at Johnston & Camelia/Guilbeau is still just as bad if not worse than before.

Lafayette has a lot going for it but if it doesn't fix its traffic problems it will lose a lot of business to the outlying areas that are currently in rapid development (Broussard and Youngsville in particular although they have traffic issues of their own too). The widening of Pinhook from Verot School Rd. to South Park Road was great...sucked while they were working on it but traffic does flow better now. There is also a great need to extend I-49 through the city and get some overpasses constructed to alleviate forcing through traffic to stop for intercity travel. But how long have they been talking about doing that? If it happens in my lifetime I'll be surprised...and that's hopefully another 40-50 years.

[mdmagana]

Originally Posted by MetroBTR

Up until a couple of years back, Mervyn's was in Baton Rouge, too. I didn't realize it was out of the West Coast. I always thought it had been a southern chain. I guess you learn something new every day.

As far as bad weather, Louisiana driver's are okay. It rains almost every afternoon in the summer months so we are no strangers to driving in inclement weather.

Yeah, Mervyn's was California based and most of their stores were there. I had heard that they tried to expand into the South (Atlanta is what I was told) in the late 80s and early 90s... I had no idea they ever made it to Baton Rouge.

I know Macy's and Saks are in big trouble right now too, but I had no idea JC Pennys was closing store until I saw the one in Lake Charles. How worrisome! Lower price department stores like Mervyn's and JC Pennys have historically done okay during a recession.

Does anyone know if there are any Norstrom stores in Louisiana?

[edesign]

Originally Posted by mdmagana

Does anyone know if there are any Norstrom stores in Louisiana?

Nordstrom.com - Shop from over 500 brands (store locator )

I checked for you and no, there are no Nordstroms in Louisiana. I do recall one in Alaska before I left there what seems like a lifetime ago lol.

[mdmagana]

Originally Posted by edesign

Nordstrom.com - Shop from over 500 brands (store locator )

I checked for you and no, there are no Nordstroms in Louisiana. I do recall one in Alaska before I left there what seems like a lifetime ago lol.

LOL! Thank you... I didn't realize that you could search on that thing just by state.

[bbeth62256]

For Mexican food in Lake Charles go to Casa Manana on Ryan Street.

[KLazz]

Lake Charles is pretty nice. I have lived here about 9 years now; moved here in the middle of high school from Ohio. Coming from a city with a lot to do and great malls took quite an adjustment as you can imagine, but I have definitely grown to like Lake Charles. The 'mall' obviously isn't the greatest but you can always take a shopping trip to Beaumont or Lafayette if needed. I hear Kohl's is replacing Macy's so that is exciting. Target, Dillard's and Old Navy are all I really need for the essentials anyway!

I believe LC will be doing some more growing... especially now with Pinnacle building another casino next to L'Auberge du Lac within the next couple years. That's another perk about Lake Charles - L'Auberge always has something fun going on. Jack Daniel's Bar and Grill is a lot of fun, and every Thursday they have "Party by the Pool" where they have bands - Everclear was two weeks ago and over 3,000 people came! The Molly Ringwolds are one of my favorite bands and they will be here next month I think. They occasionally have celebrities come too... I know Jessica Simpson is coming later this year for instance. I have heard rumors of different strip malls and restaurants that they are planning on building off the Nelson Road exit but who knows.
As far as Mexican food, Casa Manana is definitely a hot spot but I actually like "cancun" more for its authenticity... it seems kind of shady but the food is really good! Casa's margarita's are definitely my favorite in all of LC though
Traffic is really no issue in LC. 5:00 traffic? What's that? haha! Seriously. I leave work between 5 and 6:30 every day and sometimes it takes me an extra five minutes but I would never complain because my friends in Houston would definitely give me an earful!
I lived in Baton Rouge for a year and would go to Lafayette sometimes with friends and I always had a good time, but I really don't know too much about the city other than their mall is better than ours' and it is has a pretty fun nightlife. Lake Charles is definitely much slower.