With the second phase of construction on the Downtown Greenway nearly complete, downtown Baton Rouge officials are beginning to plan for Phase III, which could include a pathway to the Spanish Town neighborhood as well as link up with planned developments at Memorial Stadium and BREC’s bike path at Spanish Town Road Park, east of Interstate 10.
Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District, says Spanish Town residents have not yet been made aware of the proposed route to their neighborhood, which Rhorer declines to identify before traffic engineering work is finished. He doesn’t expect much, if any, opposition, however, saying the project won’t take up any on-street parking spaces.
“We would like to get Phase III done by the end of the year,” Rhorer says. “It’s just carving out a piece of existing roadway, so it can be done quickly.”
He’s planning to mark the completion of the Phase II segment—which runs from TJ Jemison at North Boulevard to the intersection between the South Boulevard Connector and Expressway Park—with a ribbon cutting ceremony sometime in the next few weeks. Additionally, wayfinding signage will be placed in various locations from the river to Expressway Park over the next four to six weeks, while two visitor information kiosks will be constructed at Riverfront Plaza and at the intersection of North Boulevard and Fourth Street.
Overall, Rhorer estimates the Downtown Greenway is 60-70% finished. Ultimately, the 2.75-mile interconnected network of bike and pedestrian pathways will connect Baton Rouge’s public parks and recreational facilities, inner city communities and cultural attractions through the use of greenways, or linear parks.
In the meantime, Rhorer says much of the DDD’s attention has been turned to “getting people ramped up” as the downtown economy begins to reopen. With the recent openings of The Vintage and the YMCA, today’s planned reopening of Cafe Mimi, and state employees’ return to work, he’s optimistic for what’s in store over the coming months.
“I’ve seen people spontaneously getting on [the Greenway],” Rhorer says. “With the Legislature and courts back in session, we’ve seen a spillover effect.”
The latest development also comes as BREC has hired a landscape architect to redesign Expressway Park.
