So, Erin gave an awesome Christmas card because it included a CD of favorite tunes. Some from the past, and some I have never heard at the time. So I put it in my car's CD player and made my venture out to the Louisiana Mall for some people watching (the best time of the year).
Before I rant, a disclaimer. I am completely enjoying my time here in Baton Rouge. I love it. But these are my vents:
I HATE traveling within five miles of my apartment. Especially after 5. Considering the size of Baton Rouge, traffic is horriable. Contrary to populat belief, heavey traffic is not a sign of prosperity. It is instead a lack of urban-ness (if it occurs in a city the size ofBaton Rouge). I mean, seriously, I commuted from Indy to Muncie, and traffic was not that bad. Indianapolis is (technically) the 12th largest city in the USA. Something is wrong here in Baton Rouge.
I won't even go into their driving habits. That's another blog.
So anyway, I left at 4pm, which means I made it to the mall pretty fast because it was before people left work. I arrived at the mall, and of course the place is packed. The City of Baton Rouge has installed a five-lane bypass around the mall, complete with two interchanges to the interstate. I have fought Christmas traffic before, and it was obvious (when I hadn't moved an inch on the five-lane, mall bypass) that I wasn't going to find a parking spot. So I had to turn around. It was this point I said to myself: this would not be a problem if this city was not completely reliant off the automobile. Nor would it be a problem if this shopping were in an urban area where people could park on multiple streets of multiple parking lots that are dispersed throughout the area. Seriosuly. This seems obvious to most people – but it must not be.
So, you're saying: this is true all over the USA. I digress. However, its worse here. Take it from someone that has been to 48 states and most major cities. I get irked when I am in a public meeting and I hear someone from the LSU Landscape Architecture department rant on about New Urbanism and this so-called 'new movement'. Whenever someone says this I just want to relocate from Baton Rouge to – I dunno. But it makes me mad. Especially in a city like Baton Rouge. There are all kinds of 'new urbanist' developments around Baton Rouge. It is the thing to do. The only place in Baton Rougewhere 'new urban' developments are not being built are IN THE URBAN CORE! Guess what's downtown right now? Imagine Muncie. That's what's there. But don't worry. I can drive to one of these 'new urban' developments and experience the urban environment. Except they lack density, (real) multi-use, diversity, etc. Oh wait: isn't that the what 'urban' means? Huh, I guess I forgot about those qualities when I was too busy trying to keep my development homogenous in class and race. That's weird. I don't know how I forgot about that. Maybe it was because I was busy sitting in my SUV, in traffic, on the interstate, flipping someone the bird because I can't drive correctly.
There was actually an editorial in the paper saying that downtown 'just isn't the center of town anymore'. The editorial went on to say: 'Sure, it's the center for culture attractions, the government, and the historical (transportation) center. But it will never be the center of town anymore. No one will ever use transit in this day'.
Wait? Didn't the writer just say downtown was the center for all those things? Yet it will never be the center of town anymore. It totally confused me.
Oh, and FYI, the most progressive cities in the USA are investing in public transit because they got screwed by being homogenous.
Before I rant, a disclaimer. I am completely enjoying my time here in Baton Rouge. I love it. But these are my vents:
I HATE traveling within five miles of my apartment. Especially after 5. Considering the size of Baton Rouge, traffic is horriable. Contrary to populat belief, heavey traffic is not a sign of prosperity. It is instead a lack of urban-ness (if it occurs in a city the size ofBaton Rouge). I mean, seriously, I commuted from Indy to Muncie, and traffic was not that bad. Indianapolis is (technically) the 12th largest city in the USA. Something is wrong here in Baton Rouge.
I won't even go into their driving habits. That's another blog.
So anyway, I left at 4pm, which means I made it to the mall pretty fast because it was before people left work. I arrived at the mall, and of course the place is packed. The City of Baton Rouge has installed a five-lane bypass around the mall, complete with two interchanges to the interstate. I have fought Christmas traffic before, and it was obvious (when I hadn't moved an inch on the five-lane, mall bypass) that I wasn't going to find a parking spot. So I had to turn around. It was this point I said to myself: this would not be a problem if this city was not completely reliant off the automobile. Nor would it be a problem if this shopping were in an urban area where people could park on multiple streets of multiple parking lots that are dispersed throughout the area. Seriosuly. This seems obvious to most people – but it must not be.
So, you're saying: this is true all over the USA. I digress. However, its worse here. Take it from someone that has been to 48 states and most major cities. I get irked when I am in a public meeting and I hear someone from the LSU Landscape Architecture department rant on about New Urbanism and this so-called 'new movement'. Whenever someone says this I just want to relocate from Baton Rouge to – I dunno. But it makes me mad. Especially in a city like Baton Rouge. There are all kinds of 'new urbanist' developments around Baton Rouge. It is the thing to do. The only place in Baton Rougewhere 'new urban' developments are not being built are IN THE URBAN CORE! Guess what's downtown right now? Imagine Muncie. That's what's there. But don't worry. I can drive to one of these 'new urban' developments and experience the urban environment. Except they lack density, (real) multi-use, diversity, etc. Oh wait: isn't that the what 'urban' means? Huh, I guess I forgot about those qualities when I was too busy trying to keep my development homogenous in class and race. That's weird. I don't know how I forgot about that. Maybe it was because I was busy sitting in my SUV, in traffic, on the interstate, flipping someone the bird because I can't drive correctly.
There was actually an editorial in the paper saying that downtown 'just isn't the center of town anymore'. The editorial went on to say: 'Sure, it's the center for culture attractions, the government, and the historical (transportation) center. But it will never be the center of town anymore. No one will ever use transit in this day'.
Wait? Didn't the writer just say downtown was the center for all those things? Yet it will never be the center of town anymore. It totally confused me.
Oh, and FYI, the most progressive cities in the USA are investing in public transit because they got screwed by being homogenous.
No comments:
Post a Comment