Baton Rouge Business Report
By Emma James
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Exercising along the northern and eastern sides of City Park Lake can be a risky activity.
The western and southern sides of the lake boast an asphalt path along Dalrymple Drive and May Street; people who are walking, running or biking along East Lakeshore Drive on the northern and eastern sides of the lake must share the road with motorized vehicles.
As Cornelius Coleman can attest, people working out must do so warily.
Coleman, 32, runs at City Park Lake and University Lake twice a week. Since running on the road has its hazards, he supports the construction of paths around the lakes.
“I go around with much more situational awareness,” he says. “There are areas where cars come around and can’t see you. Some care, some don’t. You really have to pay attention.”
What can BREC, which owns City Park Lake, do about the situation?
Nothing, for now. There are no funds available to complete the path around the lake, which means people who exercise there will continue to navigate the vehicular traffic hazards.
“The community has already said, ‘We want to invest a lot in recreation,’” says Ted Jack, assistant superintendent for BREC. “Even though we’re able to do a lot, there are still projects all over the parish that would be great to do, but are beyond the funds that are available.”
Jack says BREC invested more than $6 million in City-Brooks Community Park, including rehabilitation of the existing 9-hole golf course, a new tennis center and tennis courts, a new dog park, new playgrounds with restrooms, new picnic areas, new walking trails and bike paths, a new labyrinth and display areas for public art.
The renovation, which was completed in May 2008, transformed the historic urban park, and usage has increased exponentially since it reopened. BREC acknowledges the safety concerns, and it has made efforts to address places where people and vehicles are in close proximity.
“I don’t think people stopped imagining what they could do with parks,” says Kristi Williams, communications director for BREC. “They’re going to continue to ask for more, more, more. They are pleased with what they are seeing and are encouraged by that.”
Two portions of the park’s initial design—a site marked “destination facility” between Washington Street and the Dalrymple Drive on and off ramps to Interstate 10, and a boathouse and café on East Lakeshore Drive east of Dalrymple—were tabled because of a lack of funding.
In April, the BREC Commission voted in favor of an agreement that donates the land intended for a destination facility to the Knock Knock Children’s Museum and identified the museum as the operator of the proposed 20,000-square-foot facility. BREC also contributed $3 million from a reserve fund to the museum, which needs an additional $3 million in order to break ground by the end of the year.
But if money exists to fund a children’s museum in the park, some people have queried, why can’t there be an investment in bike and walking paths around the lake? Jack says the museum will benefit East Baton Rouge Parish while also fitting in with the original vision of City Park.
“It’s a very strong project,” he says. “It’s a strong, important piece that’s really going to work well for the whole parish. Everyone is going to be able to benefit from this facility.”
BREC is funded primarily by the Imagine Your Parks tax, which was passed in 2004. In surveys leading up to its passage, 85% of respondents listed bike and walking paths as a priority. But BREC also pledged dedicated tax monies to 11 other community parks, three of which are scheduled to open by the end of the year.
Any extra funding, Jack says, would come from the BREC Foundation.
“At this point, we are looking for extra donations to do these kinds of projects,” he says. “There’s not enough BREC funds to do it by ourselves.”
The BREC Foundation raises money by soliciting donations from people or companies interested in contributing to specific projects. The foundation has identified 14 signature projects for which it wants to raise funds in its ongoing campaign. Bike and walking paths around City Park Lake are on the list, as are the boathouse from the City-Brooks Community Park master plan and the dredging of the lakes.
But the foundation has not approached potential donors, says Executive Director Carl Stages Jr., although it compiled a list of people and companies it wants to target.
A steering committee consisting of representatives of three owners of the lakes that stretch from City Park to LSU’s John M. Parker Agricultural Center—BREC, LSU and the city-parish—could spearhead fund-raising efforts if there is enough interest, Stages says.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that such interest exists. The lakes have often been called “the heart of Baton Rouge”—and some donors have given large amounts to improve the surrounding area. For example, developer Mike Wampold contributed funds to restore and improve Baton Rouge Beach off Stanford Avenue, an area that was renamed for his grandfather.
But no one has stepped forward to lead a fund-raising effort for City Park Lake walking paths or all of the lakes in general, Stages says.
“We want to find a champion to lead the project and raise the funds,” he says. “We haven’t found one yet, but we hope to.”
Susan Hayden, the co-founder of the biannual female triathlon Rocket Chix, says the lakes are a draw for exercise enthusiasts of all kinds. City Park Lake is known as a child-friendly place to bike, a reputation she attributes to BREC’s work in the area.
“BREC’s initiative is great,” she says. “I think we take for granted the fantastic opportunities that other cities don’t have. My opinion of their investment in that area is pretty high.”
Hayden says her biggest concern in the lakes system is a short section along Stanford between East Lakeshore Drive and South Lakeshore Drive, where bikers, runners and walkers must share a narrow sidewalk next to the busy four-lane road.
“I am concerned about that,” she says. “I’d like for something to be done. While there has been some improvement in that area, it’s a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.”
While there has been an arrangement with DPW to pave the existing path along Dalrymple Drive, the rest of City Park Lake falls under BREC’s jurisdiction. There are plans to revamp an existing stretching station on May Street, which is on the foundation’s list but also has no current funding. BREC has also made efforts to address “pinch points,” or places where exercisers and traffic share the road, most notably with signs and other identifying marks.
But in the end, BREC is responsible for all community and neighborhood parks in the city-parish, Jack says. And that means there is little extra funding because so many needs exist, and they vary from place to place.
“There’s always a wish you had more resources,” he says. “There are a lot of different recreational items to provide to the community. Some people’s bread and butter is different than others.”