ISSUES TURNED INTO OPPORTUNITIES IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD

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ISSUES TURNED INTO OPPORTUNITIES IN MY
NEIGHBORHOOD!

• OLD SOUTH BATON ROUGE
• Strategic Neighborhood Revitalization
• and Economic Development Plan
• Community Work Session 2
• Polk Elementary School
• July 19, 2005
• Facilitated by
• The R KG Team
• Plan Baton Rouge
• osbr.planbr.org

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TONIGHT?S MEETING AGENDA

• Summary of Findings from Public Kick-off Meeting
• Community Asset Survey Results
• Issue Identification
• Presentation of Consultant Team Field
  Observations
• Physical Analysis of Community
• Building on Your Many Neighborhood Assets!
• Issue Break-Out Session
• What are the priority issues?
• What areas are experiencing these issues?
• Session Reports

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PUBLIC MEETINGS

• A strategic revitalization and economic
  development plan presumes a level of input from
  those who have a vested interest in its creation
  and implementation.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS - FIRST PUBLIC MEETING

• Community Asset Survey Results
• Step 1 My Neighborhood Is...
• Step 2 If I Could Fix One Thing
• Step 3 My Neighborhood Assets Are..
• Step 4 Making My Neighborhood Better...

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COMMUNITY ASSET SURVEY RESULTS

• My Neighborhood has...
• 44 Landmarks significant physical objects
• Social Clubs
• Churches/Cemetery
• Schools/Libraries
• Stores/Businesses
• Barber Shops
• Theaters
• Restaurants/Taverns
• TV Station
• Historic Sites

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COMMUNITY ASSET SURVEY RESULTS

• My Neighborhood has...
• 54 Activity Centers gathering places to do some
  activity
• Churches Christian Ctrs.
• Parks Schools
• Community Rec. Centers
• Historic Sites
• BRCC LSU
• North Gate Shopping Center
• American Legion
• YMCA

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COMMUNITY ASSET SURVEY RESULTS

• My Neighborhood has...
• 10 Districts areas of recognizable character
• The Top
• The Bottom
• Fruit Town
• Froggy Mo
• The Tracks
• Flower Streets
• North Gate 1
• North Gate 2
• Month Street
• Chimes-Carlotta Area

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COMMUNITY ASSET SURVEY RESULTS

• My Neighborhood has...
• Edges and Barriers
• a limit or boundary that prevents people from
  enjoying the neighborhood or something in it.
• Interstate 10
• Main N-S Collector Roads
• Few E-W Collector Roads
• Railways
• Corporation Canal
• City Park

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COMMUNITY ASSET SURVEY RESULTS

• My Neighborhood has...
• 21 Social Services resources
• Church School Sponsored Youth Summer Programs
• Day Care Centers/Pre-Schools
• YMCA Butler Center
• Mckinley Alumni Center
• Parks Pool
• Police Station
• Speech Hearing Centers
• Women's Shelter Crisis Center
• Family Plus

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COMMUNITY ASSET SURVEY

• Summary of Concerns
• Please listen to our concerns and help us stay
  in our area.
• Don't run us off to make room for strangers who
  want our land and neighborhoods.
• Help us fix our houses for our people, who have
  lived here their entire lives.

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ISSUES IDENTIFICATION MATRIX
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TEAM?S INFRASTRUCTURE OBSERVATIONS

• Delpit Dr. improvements have focused on function,
  but still needs image enhancements
• Nicholson Dr. sets the tone for Neighborhood of
  Boulevards
• Overhead utilities and sub-stations detract from
  prime address streets
• Corporation canal is functional yet unkempt and a
  negative for the community
• Architecture, landscapes and streetscapes vary
  greatly.
• Many streetscapes link yet are non-place making

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TEAM?S URBAN DESIGN OBSERVATIONS

• Many elements cause the neighborhood to appear
  territorial/compartmentalized
• Neighborhood blocks need to be themed by unique
  qualities, too homogeneous
• Many areas lack buffers between land-use
  transitions
• Billboards and oversized commercial signs
  reinforce highway corridor character
• Land uses must be considered carefully to
  minimize future revitalization obstacles
• Exposed parking lots trash containers dominate
  the area

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TEAM?S TRAFFIC TRANSPORTATION OBSERVATIONS

• Parallel service roads to I-10 serve as key
  gateway access streets for the neighborhood
• Historic shotgun neighborhood streets/alleys are
  under sized for today's auto needs
• Narrow one-way neighborhood streets are not
  conducive to surveillance and pedestrians
• Railway alignments and limited road crossings
  impact key linkages development sites
• River Road has the potential to be a scenic
  southern entry for OSBR the Downtown

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TEAM?S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OBSERVATIONS

• Beyond residential, consider additional land-uses
  that optimize use of key sites
• New development patterns should balance
  neighborhood densities
• Underutilized sites along I-10 could be
  redeveloped to benefit OSBR Downtown
• As the population of OSBR decreases, commercial
  vacancies have increased
• The Old City Dock site is OSBR?s riverfront site
• River Road sites may offer potential for new
  riverfront oriented development

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TEAM?S HISTORIC NATURAL RESOURCE OBSERVATIONS

• The Neighborhood needs to preserve and celebrate
  its many historic resources
• Old McKinley High School Alumni Center
• Lincoln Theater (s)
• Historic Commercial Businesses
• Opportunities for park space re-programming and
  reconfiguration with new development
• Heritage Museum Churches
• Dr. Barranco?s Office Professional services
  need to continue in the Core

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TEAM?S HOUSING OBSERVATIONS

• Topography can make infill development very
  difficult in some areas
• Remaining public housing is a negative for
  surrounding areas
• I-10 is a harsh condition that needs to be better
  integrated
• Vacant spaces could be nice open space rather
  than infill
• Need for better density balance in the
  neighborhood sub-areas
• Need for more housing types that allow seniors to
  stay in the community

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TEAM?S HOUSING OBSERVATIONS
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TEAM?S CODE ENFORCEMENT OBSERVATIONS

• Non licensed motor vehicles
• Unsafe building structures and storage of outdoor
  materials
• Stripped structures remain standing
• Substandard commercial buildings
• Illegal Dumping with little clean-up resources
• Old commercial signage that does not apply to use
  on site

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TEAM?S YOUTH RECREATION OBSERVATIONS

• Potential for expansion of indoor and outdoor
  program facilities at YMCA
• Need to provide more than tot-lot sized park
  spaces
• Need for stronger active and passive park spaces
  within walking distance
• Some of the best recreation areas are at the
  edges of the community rather than convenient to
  the center
• Need for more youth based commercial businesses
  in the neighborhood

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TEAM?S COMMUNITY BUILDING OBSERVATIONS

• Continue to remove physical social barriers in
  community
• Reinforce community meeting spot anchors
• Turn negative features into positives
• Increase community trash sweeps
• Eliminate territorial tagging and graffiti in
  community
• Reclaim properties that have a large impact on
  the community's image

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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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BUILD ON YOUR MANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS!!!
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ISSUES TURNED INTO OPPORTUNITIES IN MY
NEIGHBORHOOD!

• Public Meeting Process Areas
• Housing
• Economic Development
• Historic and Natural Resources
• Community Facilities, Infrastructure Urban
  Design
• Youth Recreation

• Team Facilitators
• Green Jesse Ava
• Purple Russ Roger
• Yellow Christel Rachel
• Red Keith Aspasia
• Blue Jennifer Herpreet

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ISSUES TURNED INTO OPPORTUNITIES IN MY
NEIGHBORHOOD!

• Thank You for your continued involvement and
  remember to follow
• osbr.planbr.org