Best City in Louisiana (New Orleans, Baton Rouge: crimes, safe area, to live)

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by Innotech

I suppose after living here, I see the city as a basic rectangle or pentagon of 4-5 main roads. Its VERY easy to navigate to me. Frankly I get confused as heck with grid layouts.

How? 3 lefts and you are back where you started. Cities with twisting and winding roads confuse the heck out of me.

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by WestbankNOLA

How? 3 lefts and you are back where you started. Cities with twisting and winding roads confuse the heck out of me.

Me too. I am one of these OCD wierdos who HAS to know what direction I am going in or I am just a nervous wreck!

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by MetroBTR

Me too. I am one of these OCD wierdos who HAS to know what direction I am going in or I am just a nervous wreck!

Hey, nothing wrong with OCD! Actually I'm high-functioning autistic with many OCD traits but not actually a qualifying OCD.

I agree about the roads, grid patterns are so much nicer. I don't see how anyone can get lost in a grid. Newer subdivisions or sections of town with windy roads really frustrate me. Bossier City is continuing its long grid pattern by extending some north-south thoroughfares further south toward Elm Grove and north into Benton. No need for curvy roads.

[Chris19]

I like cities with grid patterns. They are common in the Midwest/Great Plains. With relatively level areas and many rural areas having country roads exactly one mile apart, grid patterns work out very well here. Cities such as Omaha, Wichita, Oklahoma City, and a good chunk of Sioux Falls, Denver, and Des Moines have grid patterns with the major roads. Sioux Falls. I like straight roads and having east-west, north-south streets. The roads out in the east coast seemed wierd to me. I can function OK in areas without a grid, but may take more thought. Normally, I have a good sense of direction.

It depends on the lay of the land. If the land is very hilly, a grid pattern may be tougher to attain and may be less practical than other layouts. A lot of it comes to city/town planning. Some cities do an excellent job of urban planning and some need work (to put it kindly). Good planning will save cities money in the long run with infrastructure and governmental costs (better use of resources and more effient use of land and efficient movement of traffic).

[ral31]

I can see how driving through Alexandria could be confusing, especially with the traffic circle at the intersection of MacArthur and Masonic Drives. Pineville is probably even more confusing to outsiders and also people who live in Alexandria but rarely go to Pineville.

[darylwi]

Grid patterns are much easier to navigate, especially when combined with good light synchronization.

[darylwi]

DOTD needs to take those new service roads between Bluebonnet and Siegen and expand them all between Essen and Highland (on both sides of the freeway). If there were service roads all along that stretch of interstate, I would rarely ever get on I-10 south of the split.

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by darylwi

DOTD needs to take those new service roads between Bluebonnet and Siegen and expand them all between Essen and Highland (on both sides of the freeway). If there were service roads all along that stretch of interstate, I would rarely ever get on I-10 south of the split.

What was the point of those? and why is one side elevated since it seems that there is no land on the east side of it to extend the little street that goes to the mall? I'm sure it has a purpose but it just looks so unessecary. It looks like LaDOTD try to mimick TxDOT but failed miserably.

[MetroBTR]

It was done in attempt to relieve interstate traffic between Bluebonnet and Seigen, which are two very popular exits in Baton Rouge. People who make a trip to the mall on Bluebonnet will often go make stops on Seigen as well (Target, Lowes, Wal-Mart, Sams, restuarants, etc.). I like the idea. I have always thought that lack of service roads were detremental to Baton Rouge, so I am glad to have these.

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by WestbankNOLA

What was the point of those? and why is one side elevated since it seems that there is no land on the east side of it to extend the little street that goes to the mall? I'm sure it has a purpose but it just looks so unessecary. It looks like LaDOTD try to mimick TxDOT but failed miserably.

You are correct. Any future service roads should be done exactly like TxDOT. I can easily navigate Texas freeways.

The elevated section was mainly to level the road to the bridge needed to cross the interstate to connect to the mall area. It's a little bit of an eye sore and I beleive they used a lot more ROW than they needed, but it serves its purpose. Too bad the cops like setting up little speed traps on the EB service road. They should be more worried about the drivers who don't know how or are not courteous enough to merge correctly.