BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Construction is well underway on this section of Nort Boulevard in Downtown Baton Rouge. City officials said this is the latest in MOVEBR’s project with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It’s a $10 million project to transform sidewalks, pathways, ramps, and crosswalks in 21 areas across the parish and not just for people with mobility issues.
“Trying to be fair and equitable from our standpoint by trying to have the assets out there that no matter what kind of condition you’re made or if you have issues we can address from a traffic, bike or pedestrian standpoint,” explained the Director of Transportation and Drainage for EBR Fred Raiford.
People in charge of developing downtown said this project will also play into their goal of drawing more people and events into downtown and the riverfront, without worrying about traffic or parking.
“We have a lot of people here that are walking and biking just because of the very nature of what a downtown is,” explained Whitney Hoffman Sayal with the DDD. “Making that safe and accessible to everybody who’s coming downtown or works or lives downtown is paramount.”
Raiford likes to think of these new pathways as connectors to other major roadways too.
“We’ll have the opportunity for people who don’t have vehicles, who can ride a bus and are willing to ride the bus, have a way to get them to a bus stop location to accommodate them,” said Raiford.
The section of North Boulevard is expected to wrap up in March. The Main Street and Laurel/Lafayette Street areas downtown are next on the list to get upgraded.
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