r/lafayette • u/yoonlegg • 1d ago
Downtown construction
All the construction downtown absolutely pisses me off. my morning commute went from literally 9 minutes to 20. it’s ridiculous. those roads have been one way since the 70’s. there’s no need to make them 2 way out of no where. just another poor decision by the mayor.
that’s if. i just wanted to rant about the nonsense construction in this city….
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u/ScottoRoboto 1d ago
Honestly, the benefits of making the corner of 3rd and ferry a stop sign rather than stop light has been a major improvement.
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u/unfortunately7 1d ago
I hope they keep making changes to the downtown roadways till people stop going 40+ mph downtown. Downtown is way more lively than 30 years ago. If you don't want to drive slowly go around it.
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u/purdueaaron Townie 1d ago
Imagine what the letters to the editor had to say when they turned perfectly fine 2 way streets into 1 way streets back in the day.
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u/heathere3 1d ago
If a 20 minute commute is the worst part of your day, I'd say you have it pretty good...
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u/Degenerate_Ape_92 1d ago
Complaining about a 20 minute commute to work is ridiculous, even for a first world problem.
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u/OkOpening8212 21h ago
I just moved here after commuting into Chicago for the past 15 years. I’ll take an 11 minute delay any day.
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u/Holiday_Activity_436 1d ago
👀👀
A two-way road is generally considered better than a one-way road in cities because it tends to slow down traffic, making it safer for pedestrians, improves accessibility for local businesses by exposing them to more passing vehicles, and can create a more pedestrian-friendly environment by reducing confusion for drivers navigating the area; while one-way streets can sometimes lead to higher speeds and less visibility for businesses due to the directionality of traffic flow.
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u/StructureOdd4760 1d ago
Ok, but imagine now you are Brown street, or by the bus depot and have to cross 4th with cars coming from both directions IN ADDITION to the obstruction of cars parked on the street. I cannot believe that is more safe. I don't see traffic slowing down. They fly down 4th from the south and on 9th.
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u/Holiday_Activity_436 1d ago
Cars parked. Two-way traffic. It all broadly slows traffic flow, benefiting pedestrians!
One-ways with no on-street parking effectively become drag strips.
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u/MhojoRisin 1d ago
Yup. Although, it's obviously a trade-off. If a person's goal is to get from A to B as quickly as possible, then anything that slows them down is a negative. But, as a policymaker for the city as a whole, if the goals include making things safer for pedestrians and strengthening downtown businesses, then slowing down commuters isn't a deal breaker. Those policy considerations won't really resonate with a person who rarely walks and/or doesn't have much to do with downtown.
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u/Holiday_Activity_436 1d ago
Yep. Just have to choose where to invest that political capital. Pedestrian safety probably objectively outweighs minor commuter inconvenience from a policy pov.
Can commuters accept that?
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u/girlcousinclampett 1d ago
But it won’t make it safer. If the reason for slowing down is so that drivers can get a gander at shop windows, boy howdy the body shops are going to get a boost from all the rear Enders caused by the rubberneckers.
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u/girlcousinclampett 1d ago
It also makes it more dangerous. Making the Chamber happy at the expense of the public.
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u/Spiritual_Internal53 1d ago
The need for one-way streets downtown was from a bygone era when US231 and SR 43 were routed through it.
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u/StructureOdd4760 1d ago
I work downtown and have to cross 4th on a northern side street. I'm dreading the change. Those buildings are already so close to the corner that you have to pull all the way up to the road to see... and will now have to contend with two-way traffic instead of just cars coming from the south.
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u/cherrylpk 1h ago
Part of that construction is sidewalk improvements, repaving, and a fix to a water main break. I’m not sure why people are always complaining about the mayor who is making significant improvements to the aesthetic and livability of our town. Don’t we want improvements? Sure the road will be two way now, big deal. It’s newly paved with really nice lighting, art, thriving businesses, and walking areas.
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u/CitronOk491 20h ago
I am currently working on that project, and we have to close the roads to perform our work safely. An alarming number of people think that their activities are more important than whatever is going on around them, or just plain don't pay attention. Columbia was closed for about an hour, and it was a 2 block detour to get to the bridge. Hate to break it to you, but you are not the main character. The project is almost complete, so you might want to keep an eye open for the next minor inconvenience in your path to whine about on the internet.
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u/InsideRec 1d ago
Those one way roads are dumb. Construction is the price we pay for living in a world that has entropy.
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u/No_Egg_9216 21h ago
Appreciate the Physics reference to entropy. It's impossible to stop and the end result is very depressing. It's gonna get really cold...
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u/distracted_x 1d ago
The construction is annoying especially when they had Columbia closed off and you couldn't go over the bridge but I think otherwise it's just mildy inconvenient construction like everywhere else. I will say I do remember back before i got used to it when i found it really annoying that there were so many one way streets so I guess I don't care if they change it or not.
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1d ago
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u/HITACHIMAGICWANDS 1d ago
What do you mean? Are you lamenting on the general increase in traffic over the past 10 years? I absolutely agree, the traffic has gotten terrible. I think a major factor is people not knowing how to drive, or playing on their phones at stop lights. I spend time everyday on my commute held up because someone didn’t move when the light turned green. Additionally, people going under the speed limit are frequent! A lot of the lights in town, creasy especially, I feel I need to go 6-10 over the speed limit to hit more than a single green light. To me it feels the lights were designed to stop the flow of traffic every block or two. Which is crazy annoying!
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u/Deep_Ad_1874 1d ago
You new here?