Land Use
| Introduction | 2 |
|---|---|
| Part 1 Past, Present and Future | 8 |
| Part 2 Building the Plan | 16 |
| Part 3 Managing the Plan | 26 |
| Part 4 Goals, Objectives and Actions | 33 |
Assembled by OpenPublica from the documents it serves for this government. Each section below is a separate publication by the government, and its page numbers are that section's own. We have pinned 9 slots here, so an element absent from this file may simply not have been reviewed yet.
| Introduction | 2 |
|---|---|
| Part 1 Past, Present and Future | 8 |
| Part 2 Building the Plan | 16 |
| Part 3 Managing the Plan | 26 |
| Part 4 Goals, Objectives and Actions | 33 |
Baton Rouge’s shared vision is of a community that is known for sustainability – in economic, environmental and social equity terms. Baton Rouge’s Downtown is strong and vibrant day and night. It’s the heart of the region, with opportunities for living, working and recreation. Neighborhoods are thriving and citizens have housing options that are safe and affordable to a variety of income levels. East Baton Rouge Parish has attractive open spaces in every neighborhood, and residents have many desirable options for getting around, including walking, biking, riding transit and driving.
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Third Street
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Live After Five
This vision was developed by a diverse group of residents and stakeholders that provided input through workshops, open houses, interviews, focus groups and survey discussions. Respondents consistently cited the following core values and aspirations they believed should be the foundation for building a vision for East Baton Rouge Parish.
Core values that relate to land use:
Prosperity: All residents have access to a thriving economy with job opportunities in growing diverse businesses.
Equity: All residents have access to a good education, public services, housing and job opportunities.
Diversity: The City-Parish is known for embracing diversity and acceptance of other cultures, ethnicities and groups.
Safety: People feel safe where they live, work and play.
Strong neighborhoods and communities: Neighborhoods in all areas of the City-Parish are desirable places to live and have a range of housing types and nearby amenities to serve residents.
Convenient transportation: There is a variety of choices for moving both people and goods, as well as improving existing ways to move throughout the parish.
Healthy environment: Natural resources are protected and conserved to provide active and passive recreational opportunities for current and future residents.
Sustainability: The future reflects the creativity and resiliency of East Baton Rouge Parish’s residents and offers a sustainable place for citizens to thrive – with a focus on building a future based on fiscal, physical, environmental, economic and equitable sustainability
Introduction
This element of the FUTUREBR Comprehensive Plan addresses how the East Baton Rouge Vision will be achieved through effective land use planning. The Comprehensive Plan is a statement of policy and therefore is not a regulatory document. The goals and policies at the end of this element will guide the city’s regulatory system – including the Unified Development Code (UDC), subdivision of land, interaction of land use and transportation planning, and economic development. The goals and policies also provide guidance to land-use decisions.
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Mississippi River
Introduction
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Spanish Town
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Mid City
Baton Rouge, by its history and nature, is organized into neighborhoods and districts. Think of how well parish residents describe where they live or work – Downtown, the Garden District, Spanish Town, Scotlandville, Mid City. These are all districts or neighborhoods, each with distinct characteristics. While other important elements of community form exist, such as commercial corridors or industrial areas, a parish concept of foundational, cohesive districts will both match the existing developments and also be easy to describe as new additions are recommended in the plan. So the fundamental starting point of the plan should be defining these areas – not just a map of districts, but understanding what defines the district character and what ties everything together.
To be cohesive, districts typically share common characteristics – architecture, history, or civic institutions such as a school or park. The district concept becomes especially useful when combined with land use and transportation concepts. One of the fundamental goals of this plan is to develop a more resilient, prosperous East Baton Rouge Parish. Applying these ideas to a district concept leads to the idea of more self-contained districts, where one can find many of the residents’ or workers’ daily needs close by – a short drive or even a short walk – within 20 minutes.
WHAT MAKES AN AREA PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY?
In the ideal pedestrian-friendly neighborhood, most daily needs can be satisfied within a short walk from home and work. The factors that influence how easy and enjoyable it is for residents to walk for their daily needs are critical.
In many areas, nearly a third of the variation in pedestrian activity can be attributed to environmental qualities such as cleanliness, sidewalk continuity, landscaping, seating, shade, and curb ramps, as well as the availability of street furniture, quality of paving materials, noise and odors.
Street network characteristics such as configuration, compactness, and connectivity influence the frequency with which people drive, walk or ride a bike. Denser, connected street networks correlate with fewer motor vehicle trips, fewer miles traveled and improved pedestrian access.
Many residents of East Baton Rouge Parish would say that their quality of life is related to where they live and how easy it is to get to work, get kids to school, get involved with neighbors or have access to a local park. FUTUREBR sees the concept of the “20-minute neighborhood” — where residents can walk to essential amenities and services in 20 minutes — as a vital element of a healthy neighborhood. While many may prefer to drive, others will prefer walking to further enrich their own daily experience and to contribute to their quality of life.
With FUTUREBR, the people who design streets, transportation systems, parks and sewers should bring the concept of the 20-minute neighborhood to areas outside the City-Parish core. The 20-minute neighborhood’s goal is to build projects that provide a range of amenities close to home, whether this occurs on foot or by transit, bike or car.
The features of a 20-minute neighborhood can be found on the graphic below. The 20-minute neighborhood consists of local amenities, playgrounds and parks, walkability, local transport and housing diversity just to name a few. A combination of zoning reform, transportation investment and strategic commercial and residential expansion centered around existing transit could create more livable, walkable and people-centered neighborhoods, which can lead to greater housing affordability. Although the idea of complete, compact and connected places is simple, putting it into practice is complex. The following 10 principles are based on shared lessons from places with several years’ experience, such as a compelling vision, well connected- communities, partnership and advocacy, addressing inequalities, adopting policy, investment, and evaluation and adaptation.
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Liveability, Health and 20-minute Neighborhoods Creating well-designed walkable neighbourhoods that are connected through a mix of land-uses, housing types and access to quality public transport, we can create more healthy, liveable communities. Liveable communities should have access to the following features:
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Spanish Town
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Riverfront in Downtown
There are many different types of neighborhoods, each with unique characteristics. Traditional neighborhoods built before the 1950s, such as Spanish Town, Beauregard Town and the Garden District, feature a grid pattern of streets with small lots and have commercial and service uses integrated into the neighborhood fabric. Neighborhoods such as Sherwood Forest, Shenandoah and Oak Hills Place, built since the 1960s, have a discontinuous street pattern and are more auto-oriented, consisting of single-family homes on large lots, shopping centers and parks.
FUTUREBR envisions retaining the best and most cherished aspects of the districts while allowing them to evolve to meet the challenges of future growth, such as Mid City neighborhoods working together to evolve into vibrant mixed-use districts.
To do this, FUTUREBR has identified Character Areas in the Community Design and Neighborhoods Element. This helps to determine if a Future Land Use designation responds to the design quality of the area, street types, context, and existing land use and development character. After FUTUREBR adoption in 2011, the Character Area map is another layer used to determine if a land use change conforms to the surrounding area.
– Past, Present, and Future
East Baton Rouge Parish is the central parish within the Greater Baton Rouge metropolitan area, home to the City of Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. The metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes eight other parishes: Ascension, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Point Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana. The Parish’s location in an MSA means it draws people from other parishes for employment and shopping opportunities.
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The citizens of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish recognized the need for a Comprehensive Plan and voted to amend the Plan of Government to require comprehensive planning in 1988.
The award-winning Horizon Plan was the first locally-mandated comprehensive planning resolution in Louisiana. Adopted in 1992, the Horizon Plan’s primary emphasis was to identify major issues that influence future growth, to decide the actions necessary to address these issues, and to propose specific strategies that help the City-Parish target its resources in the most efficient manner. The original resolution called for five-year updates to the plan to monitor growth and development trends, with a major overhaul in 20 years.
In conjunction with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the City-Parish experienced an influx of 75,000 new residents. The City-Parish’s infrastructure struggled to handle the additional demand. The experience of population growth in the aftermath of the hurricanes helped the City-Parish leadership decide to fast-track the development of the 20-year update to succeed the Horizon Plan, known as FUTUREBR.
(a) A Comprehensive Master Land Use and Development Plan for the physical development of the metropolitan area of East Baton Rouge Parish and the City of Baton Rouge shall be adopted by the Planning Commission and Metropolitan Council within two years of the passage of this amendment to the Plan of Government. The Comprehensive Plan shall include but not be limited to the following elements: land-use element; traffic circulation and mass-transit element; wastewater, solid waste, and drainage element; conservation and environmental resources element; recreation and open space element; housing element; public services and facilities element, which shall include but not be limited to a capital improvement program; public buildings and related facilities element; Development and redevelopment; Health and human service element; and Methods of financing to implement recommendations.
Upon adoption of the Master Plan by the Planning Commission and Metropolitan Council, no subdivision, street, park or public way, ground or space, drainage, building development or structure, whether publicly or privately owned which is in conflict with the Master Plan or Zoning Ordinance of the City Parish shall be constructed or authorized unless the locations have been submitted to and approved by the Planning Commission.
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LOUISIANA REVISED STATUES 33:109: PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PARISHES AND MUNICIPALITIES
A. Whenever a commission has adopted a master plan of a parish or municipality, as the case may be..., no street, square, park or other public way, ground, or open space, or public building or structure, or public utility, whether publicly or privately owned, shall be constructed or authorized in the parish or municipality...
B. Whenever a parish or municipal planning commission has adopted a master plan, the governing authority of such parish or municipality shall consider such adopted master plan before adopting, approving, or promulgating any local laws, ordinances, or regulations which are inconsistent with the adopted elements of the master plan.
Part 1: Past, Present and Future
East Baton Rouge Parish is the most populous parish in Louisiana. In the last two decades, from 1990 to 2021, East Baton Rouge Parish has experienced a 16 percent increase in its population, from 380,699 to 453,3011. Since 2017 the city has grown 1.5%. This includes a population decline in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The city started seeing population grown in 2020 again.
During the past three decades, the portion of the region’s population living in East Baton Rouge Parish has declined steadily. The Parish’s population grew by more than 2,000 during the last 21 years yet its share of region-wide population declined from 62 percent to 52 percent in 20202.
The majority of workers in the region continue to commute into East Baton Rouge Parish because it is the hub of employment. In 2021, almost 50% of people employed in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area worked in the city, but lived in the region3. The Parish accounts for half of the new jobs created in the region. Since 2000, East Baton Rouge Parish’s share of regional employment has decreased from 66 percent to 60 percent4, meaning that outlying areas saw greater employment growth than East Baton Rouge Parish. Over this same period, East Baton Rouge Parish has continued to have a high concentration of jobs compared to population regionally.
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Source: Louisiana Workforce Commission. Note: RLMA 2 refers to the Baton Rouge Regional Labor Market Area, as defined by the Louisiana Workforce Commission, which includes the following parishes: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.
Part 1: Past, Present and Future
FUTUREBR is based on an aspirational population forecast that projects the Parish will retain its proportional share of the region’s population and employment. This is in contrast to the State of Louisiana’s 2030 population forecast. Under the State forecast, while the Baton Rouge MSA would see an increased population, East Baton Rouge Parish would lose population, with more growth going to surrounding parishes.
It is possible to achieve this aspirational forecast and bring vitality and reinvestment to the Parish. It will require careful planning to retain and attract new people, in conjunction with improvements in the transportation network and the school system as well as reduction in the crime rate. The following describes how changing demographic trends, both nationwide and in the City-Parish must be considered as a part of East Baton Rouge Parish’s strategy for growth, revitalization and reinvestment.
Decades ago, the housing market was focused on providing single-family housing that met the needs of families with children. Today, the majority of new households are made up of one or two people, a trend that is expected to continue into the future. These small households may be any age, ranging from students and young professionals to retired seniors.
The trend toward smaller households stems partially from aging baby boomers (persons born between 1946 and 1960). Baby boomers are a major demographic group with specific housing needs, since they are more likely to have just one or two people after their children move away. Many baby boomers seek housing that is convenient, social, and low maintenance – like much of the housing found in medium and higher-density urban neighborhoods.
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Source: State of Louisiana Population Projections. http://www.louisiana.gov/Explore/Population_Projections/
ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES Survey/Program: American Community Survey Year: 2021 Estimates: 1-Year Table ID: DP05 (Graph in folder with more references) ↩
Survey/Program: Decennial Census, Universe: Total population, Year: 2020, Table ID: P1; ↩
ACS B08016 2021, Dataset: ACSDT5Y2021, ACS-5-Year Estimate Detailed Tables; Workers 16 years and over living in a metropolitan statistical area ↩
LWC Regional Labor Market Area 2, Annual Average Employment by Parish 2021, 2020, 2019 ↩
Younger adults also seek out housing that is pedestrian friendly, convenient, diverse and balanced. Consumer research suggests that those in their 20s and 30s (known as Millennials) represent the largest target group of people interested in living in urban environments. Research by the Brookings Institution has also found that people aged 25-34 went from less than 15 percent to almost a quarter of Downtown residents between 1970 and 2000 in 44 selected cities.
Compared to national averages, East Baton Rouge Parish is likely to become more ethnically and racially diverse by 2030. Under the state’s “high” population forecast, the share of African American residents is expected to exceed the share of white residents by more than 30 percent⁵. Like other southeastern regions, East Baton Rouge Parish will likely see an influx of Hispanic newcomers who are typically younger than the average resident. Nationally, the median age of the Hispanic population is 30 years⁶, compared to 39 years⁷ for the population as a whole. These new residents will need homes and neighborhoods to raise their families, schools within walking distance, and easy access to jobs via the transportation network.
By 2030, the State of Louisiana predicts in its “high” forecast that 62 percent⁸ of the population in the Parish will be African American, 31 percent⁹ will be white, and 7 percent will be of other races. According to the Census, the Hispanic or Latino population has increased from 4 percent of the population in 2010 to over 25% of the population¹⁰.
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Most ownership housing in East Baton Rouge Parish consists of single-family detached homes, which points to an opportunity to build townhomes, and cottage homes products more attractive to diverse populations. If local and national trends hold true, much of East Baton Rouge Parish’s future demand for ownership units will be for smaller housing types.
These trends also mean rental housing is projected to be a long-term need in the City-Parish. Rental housing offers flexibility for individuals and families in an age when job markets are in flux and mortgages are more difficult to obtain. In terms of affordability, there are many renters and owners living in housing that is not 30 percent of their incomes on housing¹¹, and the hardest hit are households earning the least. Unaffordable housing costs have most greatly affected renter households earning less than $15,000, making them particularly prone to overpaying – spending more than 35%, 40% or even 50% of their incomes on housing. Currently, rental housing in East Baton Rouge Parish is designed for lower income renters, perpetuating the stark income divide between renters and owners in the Parish. The market is under-producing high quality rental options affordable to households earning less than $25,000.
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East Baton Rouge Parish encompasses approximately 300,000 acres of land (470 square miles). Removing the cities of Baker, Central and Zachary, the FUTUREBR planning area is just over 181,760 acres1. While the majority of the land is already developed, there is still a significant supply of land available for growth in the next 20 to 30 years.
Located within the delta of the nation’s largest river system, land in East Baton Rouge Parish is strongly influenced by water, including lakes, waterways, wetlands and floodplains. In addition to the more than 72,000 acres2 of land constrained by wetlands and open water (over 20% of City-Parish land3), over a quarter4 of City-Parish land is affected by the high hazard floodplain, also known as the “100-year” floodplain. These areas can impose constraints on development for both ecological and practical reasons. Building in the floodplain is common practice in the region, but it is inherently more expensive to build and subjects the development to greater risk of flooding. Given the availability of land not affected by environmental constraints, development in the high hazard floodplain should be subject to heightened review and stronger regulations.
“Developable” land accounts for roughly a quarter5 of the City-Parish area, based on the existing land use. Approximately 35 percent of that developable land is within the reach of existing urban services, which indicates the extent served by City-Parish water and sewer lines. Outside the urban service boundary, much of the undeveloped land is zoned for rural and agricultural use, including approximately 30,000 acres of prime agricultural land. To preserve productive farm land, forests, and rural open space within the Parish, new development and infill should be focused inside the existing network of urban services.
In addition to land available for new development, there is widespread potential for redevelopment on land with existing buildings in many areas of the parish. Infill and redevelopment will be particularly important in areas that are centrally located and easily accessible, and where existing land use does not best serve community desires. Strategies for infill and redevelopment are discussed in greater detail in this element.
Housing in East Baton Rouge Parish consists largely of single-family homes in existing neighborhoods. Some of the oldest, inner ring neighborhoods have excellent connectivity because of a continuous street grid, while many of the more recent housing developments have a disconnected street network and isolated land uses. Multi-family housing is available throughout the City-Parish, located in clusters along major arterials and bordering commercial centers. Employment is concentrated in downtown Baton Rouge and the Industrial Areas, along the corridors of Florida Boulevard, Interstate 10 and Airline Highway, and near LSU.
In light of demographic trends and the region’s projected growth, East Baton Rouge Parish will need to position itself as an attractive city in order to attract and retain talented young people. It will need to meet the demand for housing types not widely found in the Parish. On the transportation front, East Baton Rouge Parish will need to continue to serve motorists, but also those who bike, walk, or use transit. Increasingly, alternative forms of transportation will become important as an economic issue and will improve the Parish’s environment.
The FUTUREBR Strategic Scenario anticipates the addition of roughly 48,000 new households and 135,000 new jobs to the Parish from 2005 to 2030. As of 2021, East Baton Rouge Parish has added 46,300 jobs since 2005, slightly under the 35% of the estimated jobs in 2030. In 2005 there were 156,365 households in the Parish. In 2021 there were 175,731 households, an increase of just under 20,000 households. The scenario estimates that this new growth would occur on approximately 12,500 acres of land. Infill and redevelopment should account for about 10% of new growth, under this scenario, which is a significant amount.
Infill and redevelopment parcels vary in size across the Parish. Where feasible, transit-oriented corridor developments can provide space for new businesses, retail space and urban housing. Successful developments should support transit investments, reduce auto dependence, and help to create lively places that draw people day and night. Elsewhere within the existing urban fabric, available parcels may be small, and successful development will be numerous and smaller as parcels become available. Smaller infill projects can have a galvanizing effect on a neighborhood, particularly mixed-use housing development that expands the range of options in the area.
New development that complements and improves the Parish’s existing urban fabric, makes efficient use of services, and provides a wide variety of housing types will require zoning and permitting processes that allow for the efficient development of high quality places. The market for dense, mixed-use products depends upon land value, expected rent, and the anticipated return on investment for owners and developers. After FUTUREBR’s adoption in 2011, Planning Commission staff updated the UDC to ensure the recommended policies were also context sensitive. Character areas were adopted to designate different standards to areas of the parish to ensure the ability to protect community character. Downtown and Urban/Walkable Areas require less parking and landscape to help encourage infill. Parking credits were also introduced for existing buildings to incentivize adapted reuse of buildings that were built prior to parking requirements.
Infill development has always been a primary focus. Parking reduction/sharing have been implemented parish-wide with Downtown Baton Rouge and the surrounding urban areas being areas of focus. Since the last 5-year update, 6,896 new construction residential and commercial permits were issued. Out of those, 13% (926) were located in the Downtown and Urban/Walkable Character Areas6. This exceeds the original plan’s goal of 10% of new growth in infill areas.
Together, the Vision, in combination with the Land Use Map and Transportation Element, addresses the man-made geography of the City-Parish. These maps identify areas where the land uses or intensity of uses are envisioned to change, including mixed-use centers, as well as areas where land uses should be maintained and improved while retaining their present character, such as existing neighborhoods. With regard to transportation, the maps display the street types that complement the land uses they serve.
FUTUREBR should be used to guide the development of smaller scale plans and related implementation, legislation, or public investment strategies for the small areas within the City-Parish. It is a policy document, not a regulatory document. Regulation of property subdivision and development is a function of the UDC and zoning map.
The Land Use Map is derived from the Vision Map and should guide the City-Parish’s investment and regulatory programs. The Map translates the vision’s over-arching concepts into plan categories that describe in more detail the form, scale, and type of uses for specific areas of Baton Rouge. Plan categories serve as the basis for zoning designations, which apply specific use and development requirements to real property. The Land Use Map should evolve over time, keeping true to the overall vision, but adjusting to new neighborhood plans, unforeseen opportunities, and minor adjustments that will arise.
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Part 2: Building the Plan
The Plan Categories usually provide a finer level of detail, particularly for mixed-use land uses. Minimum basic design concepts and characteristics are prescribed for each plan category. These describe the ideal characteristics with the understanding that many existing areas in East Baton Rouge Parish do not and will not meet this ideal. Character Areas are further detailed in the Community Design and Neighborhoods element.
East Baton Rouge Parish has a strong network of existing green spaces, such as Bluebonnet Swamp, Waddill Wildlife Refuge, Magnolia Mound, City Park, and over 150 neighborhood and community parks. Many of these assets will eventually be connected by greenway trails and other bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Parks and public open spaces encourage a healthy lifestyle, connect people to nature, provide environmental benefits and access to recreation. They should be spread throughout the City-Parish and centrally located within neighborhoods, ensuring that all residents can easily access them on foot, by bike or car. Depending on the adjacent land uses, parks may be served by varying levels of pedestrian infrastructure.
Properties given the Open Space Plan Category will be publicly owned, or designated for a public purpose. They are areas that the City-Parish has decided to protect and not allow any development. These will most often be cemeteries, conservation areas, wetlands or other sensitive natural areas.
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Bluebonnet Swamp
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Perkins Road Park
Part 2: Building the Plan
Single-family homes on large rural lots are predominately located in the northern part of the Parish. A few small stores provide limited goods and services, and most residents get to employment and shopping by car. Because homes are spread out and far from urban centers, the municipal cost of providing services and infrastructure is comparatively high.
Agricultural/Rural land uses make for an auto-oriented environment. Pedestrian design is minimal because buildings are not typically set back from the roadway. Residential development should be encouraged where it can be served by nearby community-serving amenities.
This category includes predominantly single-family homes. Streets should include bike lanes and sidewalks, as appropriate. Some residential neighborhoods may be auto-oriented because of large lot size and existing discontinuous street networks. New residential neighborhoods should be located within proximity to existing or new amenities that encourage the "20-minute neighborhood" concept for easy access to daily needs.
In addition to a variety of single-family housing types, residential options such as "mother-in-law" suites and garden homes may be permitted. Accessory dwellings could be allowed in some conditions subject to discretionary review. Uses such as live-work units, neighborhood scale office and commercial at intersections or along primary streets, private schools, and religious institutions, should also be permitted subject to discretionary review. Density should be less than 8 dwelling units per acre. Neighborhoods such as Old Goodwood, Kenilworth, Melrose, Southern Heights and Riverbend all fall into this plan category.
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Farm land in rural East Baton Rouge Parish
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Mid City
Part 2: Building the Plan
Compact neighborhoods are distinguished from residential neighborhoods by lot size and the degree of connection to nearby land uses. Compact neighborhoods are designed with an emphasis on smaller lot sizes, narrow street width, on-street parking, and high connectivity to adjacent land uses within a primarily single-family residential context.
While this plan category is and will be composed mostly of single-family residential, it may also include live-work units, townhomes, one- to four-story multi-family developments, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and neighborhood scale office and commercial at intersections or along primary streets. Density should be at least 8, but not more than 20 dwelling units per acre. Existing compact neighborhoods include Istrouma, Spanish Town, and Beauregard Town.
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Urban neighborhoods consist of housing and retail districts where people both live and work in mixed-use residential areas. Urban neighborhoods are primarily pedestrian-oriented and may be served by local transit. Buildings, whether entirely residential or mixed-use, are oriented to the street. Many are near the Downtown Core but they may be located near major job centers, and universities.
Multi-story mixed-use residential buildings are interspersed with townhomes, multi-family housing, accessory dwelling units (also known as “mother-in-law”, flats or garden suites, live-work units, and compact single-family housing. These neighborhoods include urban retail areas and open spaces such as plazas, fountains, and pocket parks. Density should be more than 20 dwelling units per acre. Existing urban neighborhoods include Old South Baton Rouge and Spanish Town.
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Part 2: Building the Plan
Institutional areas include publicly-owned schools, universities, government buildings, and police and fire stations. Depending on the specific use and adjacent land uses, institutional areas may be served by varying levels of pedestrian infrastructure. For instance, university and government, campuses should be pedestrian-friendly places, and may be served by transit and nearby housing for employees, students and visitors. Alternately, neighborhood schools may have varying degrees of urban form depending upon the surrounding intensity of land use. In addition to the many public schools, State Capitol buildings are a prominent use within institutional area.
Office areas are characterized by activities conducted in an office setting that focus on the provision of services, usually by professionals. Office areas provide professional and personal services with one to four floors in height permitted. While the majority of the building area will be used as office, other incidental and subordinate uses such as retail, live/work, and multi-family residential uses may be allowed. Office areas will be accessible primarily by car, but should be comfortable for pedestrians in the Urban/Walkable Character Area. Examples of office areas are Jefferson Highway and Goodwood Boulevard.
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Part 2: Building the Plan
Neighborhood Center Neighborhood Centers are small-scale, one- to three-story mixed-use areas intended to serve nearby neighborhoods with retail, dining, and services. They provide employment, entertainment and housing options such as apartments, condominiums and townhouses, with small lot, single-family homes near the edges. Live-work units also are encouraged.
In multi-story buildings, retail will often occupy the ground floor, with offices or housing in the stories above. Such centers may take the form typical of “main street” commercial areas, and a wide variety of allowed uses can include restaurants, retail stores, small groceries, personal and professional services, private and civic offices. Customers who drive can park once and walk to a number of destinations because of the pedestrian-oriented building form and design. Auto-oriented uses and drive-through buildings should be discouraged and new surface parking lots limited. Industrial uses are not allowed.
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North Gate
Mixed-Use Mixed-Use areas link major mixed-use areas, employment areas, and retail centers throughout the City-Parish. Encouraged building forms include a mix of commercial buildings, up to five story mixed-use buildings, and adaptive reuse of warehouse or large commercial buildings. These corridors will include some mixed-use condos and apartments for people who want to live in an active, accessible area. Large format retail (e.g. “big box”) and office parks should be permitted subject to discretionary review, while tower buildings more than five stories, industrial and warehousing buildings should be discouraged.
While the majority of people will still travel by car, some areas may have dedicated bus and bike lanes. The community design within Mixed-Use should be comfortable for pedestrians, and the infrastructure should include sidewalks, street trees, crosswalks and ideally, on-street parallel parking.
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Willow Grove
Part 2: Building the Plan
Commercial Commercial areas primarily function as service and job destinations. They currently serve many Baton Rouge residents on a daily basis and consist of corridors with key areas commonly located at the intersection of major roadways, where businesses are easily accessed by car. The frontages of major roads such as Airline Highway, are examples of a commercial area. Buildings in these areas typically stand one to five stories with offices, restaurants, and a range of shopping. While the Commercial area may contain a mix of uses, activities tend to be located on separate parcels.
In addition to jobs and services, Commercial areas may include multi-family housing in low- to mid-rise apartment buildings. Parking is plentiful in these areas because uses are predominately car-oriented. Since there is a significant amount of retail, it’s important to have quality landscaping and pedestrian-friendly design. For large shopping centers, this may involve the addition of public plazas or other features that serve as community gathering places.
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Siegen Lane
Regional Center Regional Centers are the most intense mixed-use areas for large-scale employment, retail, and civic or educational uses. These areas attract workers and people from around the region and are located along major transportation corridors. As the largest centers, they draw from a five- to 10-mile radius market area. Parking is provided on street or off street in shared facilities such as garages or lots. Some Regional Centers may include a parking management district. Perkins Rowe / Mall of Louisiana (at Bluebonnet) are examples of centers with a regional draw.
Buildings may be multi-story, mixed-use buildings that support a high level of pedestrian access. Buildings of two to seven stories should be permitted, with additional stories permitted subject to discretionary approval. Compact or urban residential options and civic uses such as schools, libraries, community centers, and city-parish services can also be found in Regional Centers. Buildings more than seven stories, car-oriented buildings and uses (i.e. drive-through businesses), industrial and warehousing uses do not fit in a Regional Center.
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Perkins Rowe
Part 2: Building the Plan
The Downtown Core thrives as a dynamic, regional hub for business, tourism, retail and entertainment. It serves as the center for municipal and state government, and feature arts and performance venues, convention facilities, and attractive historical tourist destinations. Many residents will work Downtown, where high-quality office space and an efficient transit system will enable a rich diversity of businesses to attract great talent that serves clients, visitors and residents.
Generally, land use will be permissive within the Downtown Core while building form and design should subject to greater scrutiny. Many buildings will be multiple stories, providing space for a range of commercial activities, offices, retail, professional and personal services, rental and ownership housing (often on upper floors within a mixed-use building). Civic uses that contribute to the cultural richness of the region will include libraries, schools, religious institutions, and facilities for the arts, among many others. Any light manufacturing should produce no nuisances such as noise, light or odor.
Drive-through facilities should be discouraged, along with other auto-oriented building forms and site designs. Transit connectivity is greatest in the Downtown Core, allowing people to get around with less dependence on personal vehicles. Parking should be located on street or at the rear of buildings. New commercial surface parking lots should be limited in the Downtown Core; however, surface parking should be a transitional use. For example, revenue from a publicly-owned surface parking lot could provide funding for the construction of a parking structure.
Newly-developed, high-density apartments, lofts and townhomes further support a true urban neighborhood. These downtown residents add to the street life, support a robust restaurant and night-life scene, and enjoy easy access to urban parks, plazas and the Mississippi Riverfront.
There should be easy access to Downtown by transit or car. Visitors arriving Downtown via regional rail or from the airport should enjoy easy connections to local transit. Commuters from outlying neighborhoods should easily reach Downtown via bus, bike, walking, rail or car.
The Downtown Core will be the most pedestrian-oriented district within East Baton Rouge Parish, with buildings that meet the sidewalk and street-facing storefronts with prominent entrances, numerous windows, and interesting facades. Buildings of one to twelve stories should be permitted by right, with additional stories permitted by discretionary approval.
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North Boulevard
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Third Street
Part 2: Building the Plan
Employment centers will range in character from the Health District – a cluster of hospitals, research facilities, and medical offices in the southern part of the parish, where pedestrian design should be encouraged – to the Airport, with a focus on transportation-related industries and other manufacturing and distribution businesses, where large parcels make vehicle access paramount.
Employment Centers are primarily business districts that host professional and support jobs in a range of service-oriented fields that benefit from being close to one another. Hospitals and medical offices, office complexes, with multi-family housing options and other commercial enterprises bringing many people to one place will be a natural fit for pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use Employment Centers. Located near highways and transit stops for easy access, employees and customers will enjoy attractive and convenient pedestrian connections to and within the district. Areas such as the Health District, the airport, and areas along Florida Boulevard are regional employment areas that feature convenient access to multi-family housing.
Industrial areas are for manufacturing, processing, storing and distributing raw or extracted materials. Building form will be largely determined by building use, and vehicle access will often be a priority. Factors such as heavy vehicle circulation, large land parcels and widely spaced buildings typically limit pedestrian activity in industrial districts. However, infrastructure such as a complete street grid and safe intersections should be provided where possible. Industriplex Boulevard, Choctaw Drive, and northern Scenic Highway are Industrial areas along with the northern areas along the Mississippi River.
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Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center
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Exxon Mobil Refinery
The FUTUREBR Comprehensive Plan is the blueprint for how the City-Parish will be shaped over the next 20 years. It lays out the goals and policies that will guide decisions about how to invest in infrastructure and transportation, how land should be zoned for development, and what initiatives, such as small area or new community plans, should be undertaken.
The Plan translates widely-held values and priorities from the Vision into a set of long-range priorities and policies. It is not, however, a stagnant document. It should evolve over time as the city grows and changes. Technological, cultural and environmental shifts are hard to predict, and the plan should not unnecessarily bind the City-Parish to policies that cannot be adapted. That said, the plan should not be altered too often, or without public involvement or an evaluation of its performance.
This plan has been designed with some tools that will help guide decision makers in managing and implementing its goals. The small area and neighborhood planning process provides a structure for working with specific areas to implement the Vision. This includes working with areas that are already developed and in need of infill strategies and new communities on vacant land, both inside the City-Parish and in areas to be annexed. The UDC translates over arching land use goals into specific use and development regulations at the parcel level that should shape development in a way that will achieve the parish’s Vision.
One of the findings of the FUTUREBR process was continued support for Baton Rouge’s tradition of building single-family neighborhoods. There was also significant support for community grocery stores, parks, schools and other amenities within a short drive, walk or bike ride from home. Commercial areas could provide a mix of additional housing options, including townhouses, apartments and multi-family developments. Neighborhoods that blend these amenities, connectivity, and housing options together are known as complete communities. Many of Baton Rouge’s oldest and most cherished neighborhoods were built in this manner.
New housing developments do not always have these amenities. Even if a grocery store is within walking distance from home, as the crow flies, discontinuous and complex street networks can make the trip to get there significantly longer. In the past, street networks were not designed to connect with adjacent neighborhoods, going from one neighborhood to the next requires travel on major arterials. Transportation connectivity standards have been developed to ensure that new communities are connected and easily travelled by a variety of modes.
Maintaining a ready supply of developable land is important for Baton Rouge’s economic well-being so that businesses will grow and newcomers can find a place to live. However, new development must be planned and phased in a way that repairs and strengthens Baton Rouge’s existing urban fabric, makes efficient use of infrastructure and contributes to the City-Parish’s fiscal position. The most influential catalyst for new development is infrastructure – roads and utilities make vacant land accessible, usable and valuable, thus spurring construction. By contrast, “leapfrog” development, where new homes or employment areas are built far from existing urbanized areas, places heavy demands on public resources. Public safety, utilities, parks and recreation, and other services must be extended over larger areas without a proportional increase in ratepayers. Transit service rapidly deteriorates in sparsely populated areas, leaving residents with few alternatives to the automobile.
In addition to new communities, the Vision for Baton Rouge anticipates a portion of new growth occurring in the form of infill development, which is the integration of new or rehabilitated buildings into existing urban areas. The FUTUREBR strategic scenario assumes that 10% of new growth in the parish would take the form of infill or redevelopment. Infill can revitalize neighborhoods and main streets by providing new employment or housing and filling “gaps” in a streetscape.
Creating a strong market for infill development is not easy to do, however, and will require substantial planning, coordination, and skill in Baton Rouge. The abundance of vacant land and the development community’s comfort and familiarity with suburban-style greenfield development can be a disincentive to infill development. In addition, financial lenders (both in Baton Rouge and around the country) tend to favor the tried-and-true methods of development – infill is usually a new concept. Consequently, like every city that has turned to infill as a growth and development strategy, Baton Rouge will have to build confidence in an understanding of good infill practices.
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Beltline Townhomes in Mid City
Part 3: Managing the Plan
Infill projects tend to occur at two scales: large multi-phase projects that can cover several blocks, or small, parcel-by-parcel projects. This dichotomy emerges because larger projects make it possible to combine a variety of uses, such as housing, retail, and entertainment venues, that help diversify the project and reduce risk. Often these projects are initiated by government or redevelopment agencies that solicit developers and investors. Substantial public investment is usually needed, especially if the project takes place on a formerly contaminated site in a distressed area. The positive aspects of the larger-scale approach include delivering a collection of amenities under the umbrella of one project. These projects can change perceptions about an area and serve as the initial catalyst for more investment. The drawbacks to this approach are the substantial risk the public must bear, both financially and politically.
The second form of infill takes small, parcel-by-parcel projects that add gradually to a community. Investors adaptively reuse existing buildings, add on to them, or build new. Local governments can also play a role, usually through providing financing, development incentives, and technical assistance to individual developers. This can require just as much effort and attention by public agencies as the large infill project approach. Mobilizing small-scale capital projects is not a simple matter, and the risk for individual investors in those projects is substantial. But the long-term yields of focusing on many small projects can potentially outperform the single large project approach.
Financial and political risk to the locality is diversified when spread to many different projects. Furthermore, successful building prototypes in one neighborhood can be easily replicated in other neighborhoods. Finally, by fostering a cadre of experienced infill developers, the City-Parish can reduce its role as a financial partner for most infill projects and instead focus its efforts on areas that continue to need reinvestment assistance.
Most likely, there will be a role for both large and small infill projects in Baton Rouge. To achieve the vision, there will be a much more substantial need for small-scale investments throughout the City-Parish. The City-Parish's development process must facilitate those projects with clear and predictable zoning regulations, and the right incentives and tools to get them started.
The City-Parish, like all established cities, holds abandoned properties because property taxes have not been paid. A major impediment to disposing of these properties to the private sector and encouraging their redevelopment is the problem associated with clouded or unclear title. For properties that have passed from owner to owner without title records, it can be very time
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Square 46 on Government Street
consuming to clear title. Furthermore, the City-Parish is only authorized to sell vacant, abandoned or unlawfully occupied property whose taxes have not been paid since 1975.
The City-Parish should take steps to decrease the amount of time these properties remain unusable by taking steps to reduce the time period before sale is possible and enforce the property maintenance ordinance, which would encourage owners to maintain property.
The City-Parish can make infill development more attractive by encouraging a clean and safe environment through code enforcement. Robust code enforcement holds property owners accountable for the physical condition and safety of their properties, and can provide a means of remediating abandoned properties through foreclosure. This can only be accomplished through persistent inspections, aggressive penalties, and the ability to enforce penalties for violations.
As demand for infill projects increases, one strategy for encouraging the type of development described in the Vision for FUTUREBR is to fully utilize the land banking capabilities and authority of the Build Baton Rouge (BBR). The BBR could establish a revolving fund from the sale of properties to acquire and assemble parcels of sufficient size to be economically viable for development.
Some properties are difficult to sell because of the presence or perception of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. These properties are typically passed up by developers because they are seen as too costly, high risk, and low return investments. The most common land use types for brownfields sites are commercial and industrial, such as abandoned auto shops, gas stations, former dry cleaners, vacant historical buildings and warehouses, and small petro-chemical businesses. Baton Rouge has a brownfields program that uses Environmental Protection Agency funds to remediate environmental damage on designated sites. Properties that fit the criteria are eligible to participate in the program.
To participate in the Baton Rouge Brownfields Program, applicants should provide the Planning Department with information about the property's current owner, known past uses, the prospective purchaser of the property, any suspected environmental issues, and the redevelopment intent of the project.
The lessons learned from a holistic approach to infill development include the need for a staff of experts who understand the challenges and solutions of infill development. A one-stop-shop for planning, permitting, and project assistance can be a crucial element of a good infill program. In 2012, the Planning Department moved to 1100 Laurel Street and now share the remodeled building with Subdivision Engineering. It also brought the Planning Department much closer to the Permitting Office. This has resulted in increased collaboration between the departments. We also use the same online system, MyGovernmentOnline. Projects can be linked between three modules: Planning and Zoning, Permit, and Subdivision Engineering. This facilitates faster review times for projects that require approval from multiple departments
Part 3: Managing the Plan
Finally, all of the parties involved in promoting infill, from the City-Parish, to citizens, to developers, must keep in mind that it will take time for some financial and community benefits to materialize. Early projects may require some public financial backing, and no one project can fill all the gaps on the street. But as Baton Rouge builds the technical capacity for infill in both the private and public sectors, the process will become easier to replicate.
Infill and redevelopment parcels vary in size across the Parish. Where feasible, transit-oriented corridor developments can provide space for new businesses, retail space and urban housing. Successful developments should support transit investments, reduce auto dependence, and help to create lively places that draw people day and night. Elsewhere within the existing urban fabric, available parcels may be small, and successful development will be numerous and smaller as parcels become available. Smaller infill projects can have a galvanizing effect on a neighborhood, particularly mixed-use housing development that expands the range of options in the area. Infill development has also been a primary focus since the 2018 5-year update. Density bonuses and parking reduction/sharing have been implemented in the Old Town Overlay District, which primarily encompasses Downtown Baton Rouge and the surrounding urban areas. Since the last 5-year update, 6,896 new construction residential and commercial permits were issued. Out of those, 13% (926) were located in the Downtown and Urban/Walkable Character Areas. This exceeds the original plan's goal of 10% of new growth in infill areas.
In the past, Baton Rouge's growth trends have favored decentralized and fragmented employment and development. This has had negative effects on Baton Rouge's fiscal condition, as infrastructure and service burdens have stretched tight budgets. The challenge for Baton Rouge is to reverse this trend.
When adopted in 2011, FUTUREBR determined that Baton Rouge's land-use program must also be attuned to the needs of its larger industries and employers. The City-Parish's supply of appropriately designated land must be carefully monitored to ensure that existing businesses can grow and new businesses can locate here. Baton Rouge has a long established history of recruiting and retaining key employers. This pattern should continue under this plan, but with more emphasis to attract a proportional share of regional employment growth to the City-Parish.
Planning and zoning, while not typically thought of as economic catalysts, can play a major role in Baton Rouge's economic development. Advanced planning and carefully designed zoning codes add value by
removing uncertainty from the development process – both for neighborhoods and developers. Cities that have successfully spurred reinvestment in their cores and corridors have done just this. Development is a risky business, but that risk can be mitigated when a community's goals and objectives are expressed by a plan and allowed by regulations.
While the Comprehensive Plan is a statement of policy about the City-Parish's desired form and function, implementation falls to the UDC, which provides rules about building height and bulk, parking requirements, and other specific development requirements.
Modern development codes describe the types of places that should be built with renderings and diagrams. They convey to the developer or architect how a building should relate to the street, while still allowing creativity in design. The result is a set of types of development that are desirable and can be built by right. Developers and communities' benefit from more certainty.
Currently, the City-Parish uses a planned unit development (PUD) process for many projects. This process entails a negotiation between the developer, the Planning Commission, and the neighborhood about the site design, layout, density, and use of a specific property. While there is an established process and procedure, the outcome is always hard to predict, and it can be a complicated and costly process for both the public and private sector. This is not to say that PUDs do not have their place or their advantages, but they should be used only in those instances where an innovative solution is needed, a site is particularly difficult to plan for due to constraints, or other atypical situations.
ONE OF THE PRIMARY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THIS PLAN IS TO REVISE THE UDC The UDC should include provisions for:
This section details the land use goals, objectives and actions that will move East Baton Rouge Parish toward the community’s Vision.
Goals are the big overarching ideas, changes or practices that are essential to realize the community’s Vision.
Objectives establish specific, measurable, attainable and realistic goals that guide how the Comprehensive Plan is implemented in a way that will achieve the Vision.
Actions outline the steps needed to achieve the objectives.
Part 4: Goals, Objectives and Actions
Use the adopted Comprehensive Plan to guide development decisions.
Ensure all City-Parish regulatory actions relating to land development approval are consistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan.
Actions to support objective 1.1
1.1.1 Align all land use regulations including zoning ordinances, the zoning map, and subdivision regulations, with the Comprehensive Plan.
1.1.2 Use the Land Use Plan categories to set the parameters for zoning districts with more than one zoning district allowed in each category.
1.1.3 Review all regulatory actions relating to land use, subdivision and development approvals for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.
1.1.4 Consult adopted small area and neighborhood plans in guiding development and zoning decisions.
Reflect policy changes in the Comprehensive Plan.
Actions to support objective 1.2:
1.2.1 Amend the Comprehensive Plan to reflect changes resulting from policy decisions. Conduct an Evaluation and Appraisal of the entire Plan every five to seven years to determine progress towards the Vision.
1.2.2 Allow amendments to be initiated by citizens, the Planning Commission, or the Metropolitan Council.
1.2.3 Ensure new Land Use Plan categories are consistent with the Vision.
Part 4: Goals, Objectives and Actions
Make land use decisions that contribute to the Vision and East Baton Rouge Parish’s economic vitality.
Capture a larger proportion of the region’s future commercial and housing growth recognizing market forces.
Actions to support objective 2.1:
2.1.1 Ensure that the land use map provides for at least 20 years of growth, including anticipated housing and employment needs.
Build a community fabric of distinctive neighborhoods and diverse districts where parish residents have access to local commercial areas, schools, libraries, parks and open space areas.
Meet the daily needs of residents near their neighborhood.
Actions to support objective 3.1:
3.1.1 Map existing and potential 20-minute neighborhoods.
3.1.2 Differentiate areas by their natural variations of use, scale, and context, and establish standards to support the development of neighborhoods with distinct, identifiable centers and public spaces, a variety of transportation options and near neighborhood services.
Allow a variety of land uses within walking distance of one another.
Actions to support objective 3.2:
3.2.1 Focus downtown development on increasing employment, housing, retail, parks, cultural and arts amenities and entertainment to create an active, vibrant urban core.
3.2.2 Ensure that the development regulations support the development of higher density mixed-use areas at Regional and Employment Centers across the City-Parish.
3.2.3 Adopt regulations that support the development of pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use areas particularly within proximity to universities.
3.2.4 Continue to allow upper-story housing and offices over ground floor retail in commercial areas.
3.2.5 Continue to implement Design Standards reflecting established Character Areas to support the market transformation of commercial strips into mixed-use developments.
Residents should have access to multiple modes of transportation.
Actions to support objective 3.3:
3.3.1 Implement Design Standards that encourage pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use development in appropriate locations.
3.3.2 Use context sensitive solutions to ensure that centers and corridors are designed to support transit riders.
3.3.3 Provide sidewalk improvements and additional connections to local retail, services as well as to parks and natural areas to improve accessibility.
Part 4: Goals, Objectives and Actions
3.3.4 Increase bike and transit access to neighborhood supportive services.
3.3.5 Ensure safe, accessible and direct routes to school for students and their parents from surrounding neighborhoods.
Maintain, stabilize and strengthen existing neighborhoods, making them places where new residents are attracted to live.
Ensure that neighborhoods are stable.
4.1.1 Identify areas where the existing neighborhood character should be preserved and areas where critical change is desired.
4.1.2 Preserve the character of established residential neighborhoods by ensuring that new development complement the neighborhood’s characteristics.
4.1.3 Maintain the desirability of existing neighborhoods through public and private investment.
4.1.4 Ensure appropriate transitions between non-residential uses and neighborhoods to protect stability and quality of life.
4.1.5 Allow neighborhood-scale non-residential uses in residential areas to be located on primary streets or at intersections.
4.1.6 Amend development regulations to expand discretionary approval of uses while ensuring compatibility with the surrounding area.
Revitalize under-utilized land.
4.2.1 Create a vision for redevelopment that is matched with achievable market conditions and promotes desired infill and redevelopment.
4.2.2 Implement the Community Improvement Plans.
4.2.3 Identify viable funding alternatives that enable area-wide as well as specific project improvements such as Community Improvement Districts (CID).
4.2.4 Build public-private-nonprofit partnerships to create effective resources.
Promote development patterns that encourage connectivity and pedestrian orientation.
Promote well connected growth pattern with an extensive network of vibrant centers and corridors spread throughout the parish.
5.1.1 Support mixed-use neighborhood development around Downtown, medical centers, universities, and other employment and light industry job centers.
5.1.2 Create incentives, both procedural and economic, for the revitalization of targeted neighborhoods capable of supporting significant growth.
5.1.3 Support development compatible with surrounding neighborhoods to promote choice in public transit.
5.1.4 Direct public investment (libraries, community centers, schools, transit, parks, etc.) toward neighborhoods identified as needing greater assistance.
Support the creation of places that provide environmental, health, and financial benefits to the community.
5.2.1 Encourage pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods as the preferred development standard in appropriate areas.
5.2.2 Improve regulatory standards to remove impediments to pedestrian access.
Promote infill development to bolster areas with prime redevelopment potential.
5.3.1 Invest in infrastructure upgrades that support development in areas where change is anticipated.
5.3.2 Revise development regulations to facilitate infill development.
Put procedures, processes and tools in place to effectively and equitably implement FUTUREBR.
Improve development process.
6.1.1 Ensure that all permitting and regulatory processes are responsive, efficient, customer friendly.
6.1.2 Make the UDC more user-friendly.
Involve citizens, stakeholders, and interest groups in the planning process.
6.2.1 Encourage applicants for zoning changes to meet with neighborhood organizations prior to the zoning review process.
6.2.2 Regularly update the Planning Commission website to facilitate information for the public.
6.2.3 Continue to implement a public notification procedure that ensures that adjacent property owners and neighborhood associations are notified and given an opportunity to comment prior to Planning Commission action.
Ensure that areas where new growth is occurring benefit from sustainable development.
Create a more sustainable community.
7.1.1 Create a streamlined permitting process to encourage sustainable building practices including building restoration and adaptive reuse.
(See Environment and Conservation element)
Preserve and enhance environmental assets.
Part 4: Goals, Objectives and Actions
Protect the Parish’s ecology in the land development process.
Objective 8.2 Prioritize protection of open space that is of high ecological value.
Objective 8.3 Work with other agencies to provide outreach to the public, create guidelines and craft incentive programs to protect the Parish’s ecology.
Establish a mechanism and process to monitor movement toward realizing the Vision.
Objective 9.1 Develop tools to enable citizens to understand and monitor change in a systematic way.
Actions to support objective 9.1: 9.1.1 Establish a land use and development program.
9.1.2 Continue to build upon the East Baton Rouge Parish Enterprise GIS.
9.1.3 Coordinate GIS data with other agencies outside of City-Parish government.
9.1.4 Monitor the status of previously approved capital projects to aid in updating the CIP and preparing the annual capital budget.
9.1.5 Establish models for calculating jobs and housing forecasts methods for assessing land capacity that are coordinated with a comprehensive transportation modeling program.
9.1.6 Publish an annual FUTUREBR Progress Report to describe benchmark progress and highlight accomplishments.
(See Community Design and Neighborhoods element)
Enhance community design character by upgrading components of the built environment.
Objective 10.1 Create and support quality streetscape design for an inviting, vibrant public realm. Elements include street spaces; building setbacks; sidewalks; and aesthetic pieces such as planting strips, street trees, and street furniture.
Objective 10.2 Signage along roadways should meet high design standards to improve the visual quality, safety, and convenience of the built environment.
Objective 10.3 Urban lighting which illuminate streets, parking areas, commercial storefronts, signage, architectural and landscape features, should meet high design standards to improve safety and visual quality of the environment.
Objective 10.4 Public art should be used to provide an important cultural and social expression; it is a key component of the community’s identity and aesthetic quality.
Objective 10.5 Support the efforts of community development organizations across East Baton Rouge Parish to provide residents in distressed neighborhoods access to programs and partners to improve and stabilize their neighborhoods.
Objective 10.6 Enhance existing neighborhoods by eliminating blighted properties.
Part 4: Goals, Objectives and Actions
(See Community Design and Neighborhoods element)
Support a distinctive community identity, enriched sense of place, and high quality of life.
Objective 11.1 Ensure that Baton Rouge consists of a strong identity and character that is appealing to businesses and residents. This includes focusing on the City-Parish’s civic, cultural, environmental, educational and historical assets.
Objective 11.2 Use the small area planning process to prioritize areas where change is desired.
Objective 11.2 Create community gathering spaces to encourage social interaction.
Objective 11.3 Historic resources are protected, preserved, restored and adaptively reused. Adaptive reuse of buildings maintains existing neighborhood patterns and repurposes unused structures through incentivized renovations, façade improvement grants, and related programs.
| Introduction | 2 |
|---|---|
| Part 1 Transportation Today | 7 |
| Part 2 Transportation Tomorrow | 20 |
| Part 3 Goals, Objectives and Actions | 49 |
TRANSPORTATION
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Mississippi River Levee Path
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I-110 at Night
The FUTUREBR Comprehensive Plan envisions a holistic pattern of development that responds to the needs and desires of citizens, seizes opportunities for economically and environmentally sustainable growth, and continues progress toward our goals.
The FUTUREBR Vision calls for a shift in how land use, transportation priorities and decisions are made in the East Baton Rouge region. The region is congested, and conditions are projected to worsen if the current approach to land use and transportation does not change. The Parish will require substantial new investments in roads and streets. However, these investments alone will not provide East Baton Rouge Parish with a modern transportation system. Investments in transit and walking and biking infrastructure will be needed. In addition, coordinating land use and transportation can be one of the most powerful and cost-effective tools available to the Parish.
Reducing travel distances can be accomplished by shifting land use patterns to bring homes, jobs, shops, services and educational facilities together in a more accessible environment. Enhancing connectivity and embracing new modes of transportation that connect these walkable centers to the surrounding neighborhoods, city, parish and region are also instrumental in achieving the FUTUREBR Vision. This shift in policy has strongly resonated throughout the public input provided during the FUTUREBR planning process.
TRANSPORTATION
Introduction
Core Values and Aspirations of the Vision
A diverse group of residents and stakeholders representing all parts of East Baton Rouge Parish provided input through workshops, open houses, interviews, focus groups and survey discussions. Respondents consistently cited the following core values and aspirations they believed should be the foundation for building a vision for East Baton Rouge Parish.
Core values that relate to transportation:
Strong neighborhoods and communities: Neighborhoods in all areas of the City-Parish are desirable places to live and have a range of housing types and nearby amenities to serve residents.
Convenient transportation: There is a variety of choices for moving both people and goods, as well as improving existing ways to move throughout the Parish.
Healthy environment: Natural resources are protected and conserved to provide active and passive recreational opportunities, ecosystem services and flood risk reduction.
Sustainability: The future reflects the creativity and resiliency of East Baton Rouge’s residents and offers a sustainable place for citizens to thrive – with a focus on building a future based on fiscal, physical, environmental, economic and equitable sustainability.
In coordination with this overall vision, our transportation system must meet the needs of all of the residents, whether they choose to locate in the City’s core or the outlying suburbs, and contribute to a desirable quality of life. The intention of this system is to ensure a sustainable network by way of connectivity, efficiency, and flexibility that supports Baton Rouge’s livability, sustainability and overall economic development. As the community of Baton Rouge continues to grow, diverse transportation options and street designs allow for increased efficiency of movement in and around the greater metropolitan area.
Flexible street designs consider an array of transportation options —bus, train and bike — that support all sectors of the community. Enhanced street design, pedestrian oriented streetscapes, green space, and a well-defined urban context increase not only the walk-ability and bike-ability of the community, but work to enhance the overall character of the community. It is through the implementation of these elements, and others recommended in FUTUREBR, that Baton Rouge will achieve the vision of this plan.
This vision is consistent with the State of Louisiana transportation guidelines, otherwise known as the “Complete Streets Policy,” the intent of which is to establish parameters for a more comprehensive and integrated transportation network that provides safe and diverse transportation options to all Louisianans regardless of “geographic location, physical condition, economic status or service requirements.” The Complete Streets seek to promote a multi-modal design standard that encourages the use of bicycle, pedestrian and transit infrastructure in a safe, unified network for both on- and off- street traffic, including but not limited to: sidewalks, bikeways, trails, and transit. However, specific design standards do not currently exist for the State, allowing communities to develop and implement their own standards that reflect the local context. The Complete Streets Citizens’ Advisory Committee is working on guidelines for contextual Complete Streets implementation.
Those who live, work or travel in East Baton Rouge Parish know that the region has severe transportation problems. Roads are clogged and the transit system is inadequate, making travel both difficult and time-consuming. According to Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s 2021 Annual Urban Mobility Report, Baton Rouge is currently ranked 13 in area delays and delay per auto commuter1.
These mobility issues can be traced back to the development of the city itself. Many of these concerns originated from a lack of significant transportation planning during the 1970s when Baton Rouge was transitioning from a small town to an urbanized area. In the years since, the expanding economy and population growth away from the city center has encouraged the expansion of transportation networks rather than the improvement of existing corridors, leaving the city in its current state.
Progress has occurred on two fronts in Baton Rouge. In recent years, the State has begun widening two of the interstate routes vital to commuters in the region, while the City-Parish funded a series of significant road improvements through a bond issue known as the Green Light Plan. When these efforts did not address all of the needs of the City-Parish, additional infrastructure investments were funded by MOVEBR. MOVEBR projects include mobility improvements, traffic and pedestrian improvements, traffic calming measures, beautification and streetscaping. The plans work together to invest in and improve transportation. However, even with these efforts, projections show congestion will continue to worsen without a fundamental change in how the City-Parish plans and invests in the transportation system.
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Mississippi River Levee Path - Downtown at Sunset
Introduction
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Downtown Sidewalk - 3rd Street
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Capitol Park Trolley
To solve traffic, mobility, and transportation equity issues, it is clear that several strategies must be employed:
All of the above actions will be ineffective if we are not successful in encouraging growth patterns that shorten commutes. It is not possible to build enough roads or supply enough public transit to sustain the current growth patterns. Combining land use planning with strategic transportation investment utilizing the latest technologies for operations is the key to the future of the Parish.
This element lays out the background data collection and analysis that was completed throughout the FUTUREBR comprehensive planning process, describes the type of modern transportation system that will help deliver the City-Parish’s long term long-term vision, and lays out a series of policies, tools and strategies for building that system.
The current pattern of infrastructure development throughout the parish has led to a localized series of transportation facilities that have little relation to one another in how they were planned or how they function. This has resulted in a system where transportation planning decisions are made that consider only one mode of transportation, thereby pitting the movement of vehicles against pedestrians, bicyclists and transit. FUTUREBR’s transportation vision encourages the development of a multi-modal system that recognizes the need for additional roadway facilities, while acknowledging that the needs of transit users, cyclists and pedestrians must be met and that mode choice can help offset some of the vehicular congestion issues throughout the Parish.
One of the most visible symptoms of not having a unified transportation plan for East Baton Rouge Parish is the lack of available transportation options. Without working toward a common vision, the automobile becomes the easiest mode of transportation to provide service. In 2008, the City-Parish Department of Public Works (DPW) performed an audit of its streets and found that there were 2,376 miles of roadway in the Parish with only 944 miles (40%) of roadway that included sidewalks. Inside the City limits approximately 48% of roadways have sidewalks. In 2011, only 15.6 miles of bike lanes and 7.5 miles of bike paths existed in the Parish.
Since the adoption of FUTUREBR in 2011, bike facilities have increased to 28 miles of dedicated, on-street striped bike lanes and 45 miles of multi-use paths.1
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Baton Rouge Traffic Congestion
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Baton Rouge Traffic Congestion
EBRGIS ↩
Part 1: Transportation Today
The City-Parish studied the existence of sidewalks in the parish by Character Areas in 2023. Downtown had 77% streets with sidewalks, Urban/Walkable had 46% streets with sidewalks, and Suburban had 49% streets with sidewalks.
Generally, funding small-scale projects such as intersection improvements or street widening are relatively easy to accomplish compared to the development of a robust multi-modal system. The public notices reductions in congestion when certain intersections are improved and acclaims it as “progress.”
Since most of the traveling public utilizes automobiles, the positive impact of added and improved bike and pedestrian facilities is more difficult to quantify. Further, the true benefits of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure won’t be realized until a more complete network is established. This political reality has had a heavy influence on the allocation of transportation funding for the last 50 years.
The land development and associated land uses for the past 50 years have increasingly fostered an environment heavily dependent on the personal automobile. Initially, minimizing infrastructure costs was a key component to the profitability of private land development; as a result, the Parish experienced an explosion of one-entrance developments that do not connect, where transit connectivity was not encouraged, and sidewalks were uncommon. Only recently has the market shown a demand for more walkable, connected communities.
Developers have begun developing subdivisions with more diversification in transportation; however, implementation has mostly occurred in isolated instances with little thought to area-wide connections. Improving connectivity and capacity must be undertaken to broaden transportation options in East Baton Rouge Parish.
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Part 1: Transportation Today
A healthy and vibrant street network provides the basic infrastructure or “bones” of a city and the surrounding region. Its placement and design determine how and where residents travel and at what capacity. In a large sense, the road network provides for the cohesive and continuous flow of travel within the region, the local jurisdiction and from one neighborhood to the next. If done correctly, the street network enhances the sense of place within the community and provides opportunities for users to select among alternative routes.
Appropriate connectivity within the street network maximizes accessibility and allows choices for people to use different routes and modes of transportation. Well-networked streets provide shorter, more direct routes between destinations. This increases the efficiency and reliability of the road network. During times of congestion or construction, drivers have more opportunities to switch to different routes and avoid delay. This is especially important for emergency responders as they need the fastest, most direct route to a fire or medical emergency. The net effect is that overall transportation demand is spread out over the entire street network rather than concentrated on one or two major streets. As illustrated in Figure 1, a network of narrower streets can handle more traffic (and create more accessible and developable land) than a single multi-lane facility. Redundancy increases the opportunity for drivers to select and avoid routes during delays or construction.
In order to expand transportation options in the City-Parish, there are two principal problems that need to be addressed: lack of connectivity and insufficient capacity.
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Figure 1: A Network of Narrow Streets vs. Multi-lane facility
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In recent decades, the City-Parish has focused on the road system for regional transportation. However, in recent years, the transit and aviation network have contributed regional connections. The map above shows the interstate system overlaid with Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, the proposed New Orleans – Baton Rouge passenger rail, and the Bus Rapid Transit route. Unlike local transportation, regional transportation hubs are more permanent and will allow for multi-modal connections for years to come.
The Parish regional network is heavily influenced by natural topographic features, namely major rivers and environmentally sensitive areas. The Mississippi River to the west, Amite River to the east and Bayou Manchac to the south have all influenced the existing regional transportation network. Recent studies have indicated that the greater Baton Rouge community has half the number of lanes crossing the Mississippi River as the New Orleans area and half as many lanes as Shreveport-Bossier has crossing the Red River. Additional connectivity is required, particularly across the Mississippi and Amite Rivers.
The original street network in some of the oldest areas of Baton Rouge represents a traditional grid. Originally designed to accommodate people – as opposed to the automobile – these streets are at regular intervals with many intersections, are narrower in width, and are highly walkable. As local and regional travel demands have grown over the past 50 years, the street network has not kept pace. An incomplete grid and poor connectivity between roadway classifications has evolved, beginning with the lack of alternative routes for the highest classification of roadways (controlled access interstates) down to the lack of connectivity of regional and local roads and between adjacent neighborhoods.
In addition, daily traffic congestion, frequent traffic incidents and crucial evacuation needs along the I-10 and I-12 corridors reinforce that alternative routes crossing both rivers are critical. The lack of alternative and relief routes during these congestion events leads to overcrowding on other State routes as well as on local streets and neighborhoods.
In addition to improved connectivity between local subdivisions, gaps within the local street network need to be filled to complete the system and allow better flow throughout the larger network. Due to development patterns over the past 50 years, these gaps in the local network were ignored with more emphasis placed on resolving the individual intersection congestion needs.
Part 1: Transportation Today
Historically, conventional suburban street networks provide the basic layout for many of the newer suburban neighborhoods of Baton Rouge. This design lacked connectivity and promoted the automobile as the primary and most logical form of transportation. With single entry and exit points via larger arterials and collectors, these street designs overstressed the arterials and collectors, divided neighborhoods, limited accessibility to community facilities, and minimized the potential of the pedestrian network as a form of travel to and from points of interest. Since 2014, the parish has adopted connectivity requirements in order to improve the roadway network and provide opportunity for other modes of travel.
A contrast of the conventional street network versus the more traditional approach is shown in Figure 2. The traditional well-connected local street grid provides more choices which leads to enhanced safety, quicker response time by emergency vehicles and optional routes during traffic incidents. A system of compact blocks and streets increases the opportunities for and performance of other modes of travel, such as walking, bicycling, and taking transit.
Figure 2: Traditional Vs. Conventional Network Comparison
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CONVENTIONAL SUBURBAN NETWORK Channels traffic from local streets to the arterial street system. A system of parallel connectors.
TRADITIONAL URBAN CONNECTED NETWORK Provides multiple and direct routes between origins and destinations.
Part 1: Transportation Today
Improved connectivity will provide greater accessibility and increase efficiency and usage of the overall street network. However, improved connectivity will not solve all capacity needs. Several major routes within the Parish experience heavy congestion on a daily basis. These routes provide residents with local access and they are critical regional links to adjacent parishes and other parts of the state. Peak hour demand and delay on interstate systems and major arterials within the Parish has grown in hours of congestion per day. Major congestion on these primary routes trickles down to local arterials and collectors placing an additional traffic burden on an already over-stressed local system.
Areas within the Parish that have experienced substantial growth over the past 50 years are underserved by the existing local roadway system. The most congested areas are concentrated within the southern and eastern portions of the Parish. Key local routes need additional capacity within these areas to adequately address current and future needs. These improvements would not only relieve congestion at critical choke points, but promote safer driving conditions, improve accessibility, and encourage increased usage of the corridors by all modes of travel.
The Parish’s current transportation system is a product of uncoordinated planning and development; in order to address elements of connectivity and capacity without a coordinated approach to decision-making and funding will be required to ensure that investments are strategic.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is currently working on a project to improve Interstate 10 (I-10) in Baton Rouge. The project, which began in 2023, is expected to be completed in 2028. The goal of the project is to widen I-10 from three lanes to four lanes in each direction, improve safety, and reduce traffic congestion.
The project is being divided into two segments: Segment 1 and Segment 2. Segment 1, which is currently underway, covers the area from La. Highway 415 in West Baton Rouge Parish to the I-10/I-12 split. Segment 2, which is scheduled to begin in 2025, will cover the area from the I-10/I-12 split to the I-10/I-20 split.
As part of the project, DOTD is also constructing a new I-10 bridge spanning City Park Lake. The new bridge will be wider and taller than the existing bridge, and it will feature aesthetic treatments to improve its appearance.
The I-10 improvement project is a major undertaking, and it is expected to cause some traffic disruptions. However, DOTD is working to minimize the impact on motorists. The project is being funded by a combination of state and federal funds.
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Segment 1:
Segment 2:
The I-10 improvement project is a critical investment in the future of Baton Rouge. The project will help to improve safety, reduce traffic congestion, and make Baton Rouge a more attractive place to live, work, and visit.
Part 1: Transportation Today
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD): LADOTD addresses state transportation issues and is responsible for design, construction and maintenance of state highways within the Parish. The recently published Statewide Transportation Plan "serves as the blue print for transportation investment." LADOTD is an advocate for multiple modes of transport, and strives to encourage sustainable growth across the States' transit system.
City-Parish Department of Transportation and Drainage (DTD): DTD is responsible for the planning and construction of new infrastructure in the Parish.
City-Parish Planning Commission (CPPC): The Commission is charged with governing the physical growth of East Baton Rouge Parish. The Commission's mission is to be a driving force supporting the development and implementation of the comprehensive plan, providing guidance for growth, development, and restoration, while recognizing the importance of maintaining healthy, diversified neighborhoods, encouraging increased access to economic opportunity, and enhancing the quality of life for all residents of East Baton Rouge Parish.
Capital Region Planning Commission (CRPC): serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Baton Rouge area. CRPC serves 11 parishes.
Capital Area Transit System (CATS): Quasi-public organization that provides mass transit via bus operations in the City of Baton Rouge.
Federal Highway Agency (FHWA): FHWA carries out the federal highway programs in partnership with the state and local agencies (LADOTD, DTD, CRPC, etc.) to meet the Nation's transportation needs. The local FHWA office administers and oversees these programs to ensure that Federal funds are used efficiently within the state and the Parish.
Baton Rouge Recreation and Parks Commission (BREC): BREC is the agency that connects people to parks and nature in East Baton Rouge Parish. In addition to providing quality parks, open spaces and recreational activities, BREC is committed to building a robust active transportation network that combines off-road greenways and on-road bike and pedestrian facilities.
As with most urbanized areas, the transportation system in East Baton Rouge Parish is planned, funded and maintained by numerous sources and agencies. agencies operating independently of one another. Decisions regarding transportation should be made through coordinated planning, and development should address elements of connectivity and capacity. Funding will be required to ensure that investments are strategic.
Multiple entities within the Greater Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area share similar interest and concerns in terms of transportation options and infrastructure.
Collaboration among these entities is vital to prevent overlap of efforts, as well as to provide a stronger and more consistent foundation for transportation efforts within Baton Rouge as they pertain to the Parish, greater region and state. Similarly, discussion across agencies allows for shared resources by way of staff, and technical and financial support. Collaborative efforts allow for a common platform among agencies that enhances and promotes joint ownership, the success of transportation projects.
In addition to coordinating with other governmental agencies, the success of FUTUREBR also demands coordination with non-governmental agencies, including the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, BikeBR, the Capital Region Industry for Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions (CRISIS), the Center for Planning Excellence, the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance, Healthy Baton Rouge, and the Sustainable Transportation Action Committee. Coordination with advocacy groups, non-profits, and private foundations such as those listed is essential to developing the consensus and momentum required to achieve the vision articulated in FUTUREBR.
In late 2017, CRISIS released its Capital Region Mobility Strategy, laying out a series of both long and short range actions to address the congestion issues facing the Baton Rouge area. This report, which was endorsed by the Capital Region Planning Commission (CRPC), laid out proposals to enhance the capacity of the transportation system, providing increased travel choices, and adoption of regional policies to more holistically address the transportation issues facing the region. Examples of these proposals include enhanced river crossings, the expansion of active transportation alternatives to promote the use of bicycles as a transportation alternative, and Baton Rouge’s Complete Streets Policy.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that new road construction alone will not solve the problems of a highly congested, sprawling urbanized area. While new and widened roads are an important element of a congestion solution, other transportation options must be given a high priority when deciding how to spend available dollars, such as transit, Intelligent Transportation Systems and Travel Demand Management. Transportation funding levels are on the decline so strategically utilizing the funding that is available is critical to solving congestion problems.
Part 1: Transportation Today
Funding for transportation projects within the Parish is derived from several sources. The LADOTD principally receives funding from a 20-cent per gallon State gasoline tax, federal aid dollars, self-generated revenues and other variable revenues, such as interagency transfers. Four cents per gallon of the State gasoline tax is dedicated to the Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development (TIMED) program for specific projects (none of which are in the Parish), while the remaining 16 cents per gallon is dedicated to the Transportation Trust Fund which funds transportation projects through the legislatively controlled priority program. Federal gas tax dollars are distributed by the LADOTD through various programs such as capacity improvements, congestion mitigation and air quality.
East Baton Rouge Parish does not have a permanent revenue stream for roadway transportation projects. In October 2005, the citizens of East Baton Rouge Parish voted and passed an extension - scheduled to sunset in 2030 - to 0.5% sales and use tax for local street and roadway improvements. Seventy percent of the proceeds are used for transportation improvements -- including the construction of new roads, widening of existing roads, intersection improvements and upgrades to traffic signalization and synchronization. The bonding capacity of the Green Light Plan used to manage these funds is estimated to be $550 million.
In 2018, the voters approved a half-cent sales tax for the next 30 years to implement MOVEBR Transportation and Infrastructure Improvement Program, a priority list of 70 projects totaling $1 billion road improvements.
Transit in East Baton Rouge has a dedicated property tax for citizens living within the city limits of Baton Rouge. The operating budget is derived from fare box revenue, federal, State and local funding, and property tax.
TRANSPORTATION Part 1: Transportation Today
The short answer to the question of funding adequacy is “no.” Current transportation funding simply is not enough. Statewide estimates by LADOTD project there is a $14.87 billion backlog in unmet highway construction needs for state routes in Louisiana. This funding gap totals $37.4 billion through 20443. The annual statewide spending on transportation projects has decreased in recent years, with construction dollars spent on State routes within the Parish varying year-by-year depending on the priority of projects statewide. These State routes are crucial because they are the most heavily traveled highways within the Parish; dollars spent on these routes represent a significant portion of the total annual transportation budget.
To further compound the LADOTD funding need, the 16 cents per gallon gas tax dedicated to the Transportation Trust Fund is a fixed price per gallon and is not adjusted to account for inflation, meaning it loses value year on year the value of the dollar decreases. The price has not been adjusted since it was enacted in 1984, and as a result, inflation has reduced the purchasing power by almost 60% since its adoption. As vehicles become more fuel efficient, the average person will purchase less fuel to drive the same distance, further impacting available funding. Although gas tax revenue decreases, the needs for roadway maintenance, repair, and other system improvements do not, further eroding state transportation funding.
According to a 2016 publication from The Road Information Project, 26% of Louisiana’s Interstate pavements are in poor or mediocre condition, the fourth highest rate in the nation.
Louisiana’s Interstate system experienced a 43% increase in vehicle travel from 2000 to 2014, the highest rate in the nation. The fatality rate on Louisiana’s Interstates was the seventh highest in the U.S in 20151.
East Baton Rouge Parish recognized the funding shortfall for State routes within the Parish when the GLP was developed for transportation and street improvement projects within the Parish. Several of the most important projects of the GLP were on State routes that addressed severe congestion and provided relief to citizens within the Parish. Additional needs remain unaddressed on other state and local roadways due to funding limitations.
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TRANSPORTATION Part 1: Transportation Today
The MOVEBR project is a comprehensive transportation plan that aims to improve mobility and connectivity in East Baton Rouge Parish. The project includes a variety of transportation improvements, including road widening, traffic signal synchronization, and the construction of a new bus rapid transit (BRT) system.
The MOVEBR project is funded by a combination of federal, state, and local sources. The project is expected to be completed in 2025.
Here are some of the specific projects that are underway as part of the MOVEBR project in 2023:
The MOVEBR project is a major investment in the future of transportation in Baton Rouge. The project will improve mobility and connectivity, and it will help to create a more sustainable and livable city.
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Louisiana Transportation by the Numbers. Meeting the State's Need for Safe, Smooth, and Efficient Mobility, March 2017 ↩
Part 1: Transportation Today
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Capital Area Transit System
While the question of whether funding is sufficient for the City-Parish’s transportation goals is a valid question, an equally important issue is how funding is spent. Investing in roads and capacity to relieve congestion is crucial, but long-term investments in bike, pedestrian, and other components of the system will also be required.
A modern, choice-rider transit system is the Parish’s goal. Some choice riders in the City-Parish will be attracted to transit because of an array of social values, such as their desire to reduce their carbon footprint and be “green.” In order to attract more choice riders, transit will have to accommodate the needs of prospective passengers with a high quality system that includes fast and frequent service, amenities like bike racks, comfortable and quiet vehicles, and good accessibility from stations and shops to work, home, and other destinations.
The Capital Area Transit System’s (CATS) funding sources include funds received from fare box revenues, a dedicated property tax millage approved in 2012, and governmental entities. Services include several established bus routes that provide access throughout the community and CATS On Demand, a para-transit service for elderly and disabled populations for areas not readily served by a fixed transit route. .
Today, transit coverage is widespread, but ridership is limited by infrequent service. This leads to a cycle of decline: too few buses and inefficient routes make transit an inconvenient choice, reducing the number of riders, which leads to further service cuts.
CATS has to improve transit service to be fast, frequent and reliable – improvements that will better serve existing transit users and encourage potential riders to choose transit because of its convenience compared to driving. New riders can be encouraged to choose transit when it provides a convenient option for getting around, and Baton Rouge’s notorious traffic congestion could prove a strong incentive for taking transit instead.
Part 1: Transportation Today
While this Transportation element focuses primarily on the public travel realm and streets, the region has several transportation assets linking East Baton Rouge Parish to the nation and world.
Passenger rail service is not currently available in Baton Rouge. A new rail connection from Baton Rouge to New Orleans is being developed to enhance the economy of the entire region, reducing the congestion and travel time along I-10 while providing a reliable, fast and convenient alternative to driving that would cut regional carbon emissions. As Louisiana’s key population and employment centers, the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas account for 45% of the state’s population, 48% of the state’s jobs and 53% of the state’s GDP. A secure passenger rail link between the two cities would expand business opportunities and attract new visitors to Baton Rouge.
A line connecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans could reduce congestion and travel time along I-10 and provide a reliable, fast and convenient alternative to driving in addition to reducing regional carbon emissions.
Two freight rail lines serve East Baton Rouge Parish: Canadian Pacific Kansas City⁵ and Union Pacific Railroad. The Canadian National line currently runs through the downtown Baton Rouge riverfront district. Relocating this line with minimal disruption to residential and commercial properties in the area could enhance the downtown environment and reduce crossing conflicts. Currently there is only a single freight rail bridge that crosses the Mississippi river; adding an additional rail bridge would improve freight capacity.
The City of Baton Rouge owns and, through the Greater Baton Rouge Airport District, operates the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR). BTR occupies about 1,250 acres of land and has two runways designed for air carrier aircraft operations. Over 60 daily flights depart from BTR. BTR undertook an update to their master plan in 2016 to serve as a general guide for future growth.
Located just off I-110 at the Harding Boulevard interchange, the airport is strategically located to service economic drivers in areas such as downtown, Southern University and LSU. The chemical manufacturing plants located near the capital and US 61 are also be served by the airport.
Currently, there is very little transit service to the airport. A single bus route, Route 54, travels along Airline Highway to Southern University and serves the BTR passenger Terminal. However, automobiles – including taxis, personal vehicles, rideshares and rental cars – make up nearly all traffic to the airport.
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Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport
Part 1: Transportation Today
The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is located across the Mississippi River in Port Allen at the convergence of the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. One of the key features of the port is that it is adjacent to the Port Allen Lock, which is the northernmost point on the Mississippi River where barges can access the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Through the Mississippi River inland waterway system, the port is linked to other major ports along the Gulf Coast between Florida and Texas. The port provides easy accessibility to world markets and the Panama Canal. The port ranks among the top ten U.S. ports in the nation6 and ranks 65th in the world by total annual tonnage.
The Port of Greater Baton Rouge provides excellent accessibility to intermodal transportation. The port is located adjacent to U.S. Interstate 10, and is in close proximity to U.S. Interstates 12, 49, 55, and 59; U.S. Highway 61, 65, and 90 and LA Highway 1. The port's public infrastructure and connectivity provide direct access to ship, barge, freight truck and rail. Its strategic location provides ready access to the nation's heartland via nearly 15,000 miles of inland water transportation as well as to the Gulf of Mexico and ocean trade lanes to and from Latin America and the rest of the world.
Part 2: Transportation Tomorrow
Given the existing conditions, institutional needs and funding challenges outlined above, the FUTUREBR Transportation Element outlines six major actions that must be taken. The overall goal is to build a system that will lead to improved quality of life and the opportunity to fully achieve the region's economic potential.
The six recommended actions are:
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Barge Traffic
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Florida Street
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COMPLETE STREETS:
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